Sarasota family office acquires two Ohio companies

Nickolas Asset Management, a Sarasota-based family office owned by Nickolas Reinhart, has acquired two companies in North Baltimore, Ohio, where it plans to double staff and its footprint, according to a statement. The firm partnered with the Reinhart Family of Cos. and its subsidiary Configure Brands in announcing the transaction. Financial terms of the deals were not disclosed.

OGO and Medal Technologies were the two companies involved in the acquisition. OGO is a brand known for outdoor products like self-composting toilets, a Nickolas Asset Management representative says, while Medal Technologies focuses on product development.

As part of the deal, the firm acquired a 32,500-square-foot OGO facility in North Baltimore, Ohio, where it plans to manufacture OGO and Medal Technologies’ products in addition to Configure Brands’ line called 50 Strong, according to a statement.

The streamlined approach to manufacturing is expected to double revenue at the facility, according to a statement. Nickolas Asset Management declines to disclose revenue.

Moving forward, the firm aims to double the facility’s size and number of machines, according to a statement. In the coming months, it will also grow its workforce from 18 to 36 employees, a representative says.

Nickolas Asset Management specializes in acquiring and scaling businesses through turn-key bolt-ons, shared back-office services and engineering-driven product development. Its model includes centralized shared services like finance, logistics, engineering, compliance and product development, according to the statement. 

Its plans for growing OGO involve expanding into high-growth categories like RV, hunting, fishing, off-grid living, tiny homes, emergency preparedness and boating, the statement says.

“Unlike traditional private equity that buys to flip, we buy to hold,” Reinhart says in the statement. “We don’t acquire a company unless we plan to own it forever. This expansion is not just about capacity; it is about investing in people, preserving jobs and fueling growth in Ohio for generations.”

Nickolas Asset Management was originally based in Findlay, Ohio, until it moved to Sarasota in 2021, the Business Observer previously reported. The firm's former headquarters is about 10 miles from North Baltimore, Ohio.

Its portfolio of manufacturing and consumer product companies includes Kreate and Configure Brands. Nickolas Asset Management manages more than $500 million in assets, according to its website, which says it operates eight factories and manages 2.5 million square feet of manufacturing space across the United States.