Tacoma, WA-based MROP supplies distributor Stellar Industrial Supply announced Sept. 17 that it has entered into a definitive agreement for a strategic partnership with SNH Capital Partners.

Under the agreement, SNH will acquire an ownership interest in Stellar. That ownership portion and financial terms were not disclosed.

Stellar said the partnership will provide the company with additional long-term capital and operational resources while preserving its leadership team, customer-focused culture and strategic direction. Stellar will continue operating under its existing name and management team.

“We selected SNH because of their long-term investment philosophy, collaborative approach and shared vision for Stellar,” Stellar President and CEO John Wiborg said in the announcement. “This partnership strengthens our ability to invest in our people, customers and future growth.”

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SNH Capital Partners is a U.S.-based, privately held investment firm that invests in middle-market companies. The firm said it maintains a long-term investment approach built on sustainable, scalable and profitable growth across the middle market.

“We are excited to partner with Stellar,” said Aditya Dabas, Managing Director, Investment Team for SNH Capital. “The company has an exceptional reputation and leadership team, and we look forward to supporting its long-term success.”

Stellar is a distributor of MRO products, metalworking expertise, safety solutions, inventory management services and Documented Cost Savings services for industrial customers.

The investment announcement follows Stellar’s commercial team restructuring — announced this past May — which the company said was designed to place greater emphasis on customer acquisition and business development as it looks to accelerate organic growth and sharpen focus across both new and existing customer relationships.

As part of that restructuring, Stellar promoted Michael Skramstad — previously Vice President of Supply Chain Solutions — to the newly created role of Senior Vice President of Customer Acquisition and Business Development. Under the new structure, Inside Sales, Business Development and Strategic Account roles moved into the newly formed Customer Acquisition and Business Development group, while Colin Brown, Senior Vice President of Sales, continued leading teams focused on expanding existing customer relationships.

At the time, Wiborg said Stellar saw “a lot of opportunity” to grow faster organically and said the new structure would help the company focus both on driving value to existing partners and expanding more rapidly into its markets.

Founded in 1988, Stellar has grown from its Tacoma base into a nationally scaled industrial distributor. The company’s Documented Cost Savings program, launched in 2010, has become a central piece of its value proposition by quantifying customer-approved savings generated through process improvement, inventory management, supplier consolidation and other efficiency gains.