Built for Growth: Steelhead Technologies Announces $84M Growth Capital Investment from Mainsail Partners

CALUMET, Mich.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Steelhead Technologies, an all-in-one ERP software purpose-built for metal finishers and fabricators, today announced an $84 million growth investment from Mainsail Partners, a growth equity firm that specializes in partnering with vertical SaaS businesses. The funding will be used to expand the platform’s capabilities and Steelhead’s suite of AI-driven tools that are designed to help shops maximize their efficiency and profitability.

Steelhead was founded in 2021 to solve a long-standing gap in the market: manufacturers want to grow, but struggle with manual processes and outdated systems that add time and cost to each transaction. Instead of spreadsheets and paper travelers, Steelhead’s cloud-based platform digitizes the shop floor, streamlining quoting, scheduling, inventory, production tracking, quality and accounting into a single, easy-to-use system. Customers have processed more than 1.6 billion parts on the platform and their revenue trends indicate a 17% annual growth rate.

“Shops that want to scale need tools and partners that can scale with them,” said Jeff Halonen, co-founder and CEO of Steelhead. “Our customers are experiencing margin and revenue growth, as they finally have a system built to help drive these opportunities. With Mainsail’s investment, we hope to share it with thousands of more shops so they can get ahead — and stay ahead.”

Steelhead’s impact is tangible. Minnesota’s D&K Powdercoating tripled in revenue and size over four years since digitizing production with Steelhead, and Houston’s Precision Spray cut its average production cycle time from 35 days to seven. “If you told me a few years ago that our guys would be walking around with iPads—in my shop—I wouldn’t have believed you,” said Dana Schnepf, president of D&K. “Technology has been a game changer for our industry, and our business is stronger than ever.”

Steelhead’s product is purpose-built for finishing and fabrication shops with a highly configurable workflow engine, which enables the platform to model each shop’s specific processes for stamping, plating, anodizing, heat treating, welding, bending and assembling, powder coating and painting. This flexibility is critical in finishing and fabrication, where workflows vary significantly by shop and part type.

“Many of the metal finishers and manufacturers in the U.S. have been in business for generations but are still running the same way they did decades ago,” said Jason Frankel, Partner at Mainsail Partners. “They've upgraded their equipment and materials but often do not have the digital infrastructure necessary to tie it all together in an efficient and profitable way. It’s not an uncommon scenario across skilled trades and why we believe in the impact that vertical software like Steelhead can have on its customers.”

“Steelhead has built a market leading product to help shops better serve ‘the last mile’ of the manufacturing process. We’re excited to partner with Jeff and the Steelhead team as they continue to bring much-needed visibility and control to a market that’s ready for modernization,” added Anthony Hayes, Principal at Mainsail Partners.

About Steelhead

Based in Michigan, Steelhead helps finishers and fabricators grow their businesses and move parts, not paper. Steelhead’s secure cloud platform digitizes the production floor and unifies quoting, inventory, production, quality, and accounting in a single, easy-to-use system. AI tools help shops optimize labor, schedule more efficiently, and understand job costs in real time. By replacing manual processes with real-time operations data, Steelhead helps shops improve margins, shorten lead times, and significantly expand revenues. Learn more at http://www.gosteelhead.com/.

About Mainsail Partners

Mainsail Partners is a growth equity firm that invests in bootstrapped B2B software companies to help them grow into market leaders. Our team is purpose-built to include experienced investors and software operators who help founders build great teams, develop industry-leading products, design data-driven and scalable infrastructure, harness the power of AI to drive productivity and innovation, and grow market share. Mainsail’s hands-on support and best practices are delivered through a collaborative approach that respects founder-led cultures and helps build on each company’s commitment to its people and customers. With offices in Austin and San Francisco, Mainsail Partners has raised nearly $4 billion in committed capital and partnered with 100+ companies over the last 22+ years. For more information, visit www.mainsailpartners.com.