203: Eric Wiklendt: "What No One Talks About in M&As About Adding Value"

About this episode

In this conversation, Erik sits down with Eric Wiklendt, Managing Director at Speycide Equity, to pull back the curtain on private equity, acquisitions, and the future of manufacturing. Eric explains how investors think about value creation, why stable cash flow beats optimistic projections, and what separates companies that are attractive acquisition targets from those that struggle to command premium valuations.

Along the way, they explore the differences between private equity and venture capital, the frameworks Speycide uses to evaluate businesses, and why AI, robotics, and Industry 4.0 technologies may reshape the future of North American manufacturing.

👤 About the Guest

Eric Wiklendt is the Managing Director of Speycide Equity, a private equity firm focused on acquiring and growing middle-market manufacturing businesses.

Before joining Speycide, Eric served as President and CEO of Kellex Heat Transfer Systems and held leadership roles at Eaton and Hilti. His background spans mergers and acquisitions, manufacturing operations, strategy, and value creation across industrial businesses.

Today, he helps identify, acquire, improve, and grow manufacturing companies through what Speycide calls a "Fix and Build" strategy.

🧭 Conversation Highlights

The Difference Between Corporate Acquisitions and Private Equity. Eric explains that corporate buyers and private equity firms may both acquire businesses, but they play entirely different games.

Corporate acquirers typically buy businesses under the assumption of long-term ownership and focus heavily on strategic synergies. Private equity firms operate within defined hold periods and focus on creating measurable value that can be realized within a specific timeframe.

The result is a fundamentally different approach to evaluating opportunities, structuring deals, and defining success.

The Hidden Framework Behind Value Creation. Eric walks through Speycide's internal system for evaluating businesses:

• Portco Value Creation System (PVCS)
• Multiple Accretion Framework (MAF)
• Process Assessment Framework (PAF)
• Human Capital Assessment Framework (HCAF)

Together, these frameworks help answer a single question:

With demographic trends creating long-term workforce shortages, he sees AI, robotics, automation, digital twins, and advanced manufacturing technologies becoming essential infrastructure rather than optional upgrades.

In his view, the factories of the future won't eliminate people—they'll shift people into maintaining and improving the systems that run production.

💡 Key Takeaways

• Private equity and venture capital operate under fundamentally different return models.
• Great investors underwrite controllable outcomes, not optimistic possibilities.
• Stable, repeatable cash flow is one of the most valuable characteristics a business can possess.
• Process quality often matters more than individual talent.
• Human capital remains the hardest variable to predict in any business.
• A single source of truth creates alignment and better decision-making.

❓ Questions That Mattered

• What makes private equity different from corporate acquisitions?
• How should founders think about building a company that someone wants to buy?
• Why do investors care so much about process and cash flow?
• How do you evaluate human capital before acquiring a business?
• What makes a company scalable?

🗣️ Notable Quotes

"We don't pay for anecdotes and assertions. We pay for cash flow."

"What we really want are companies with $100 million revenue, with systems, processes, and people."

"Culture tells people what to do when nobody is telling them what to do."

"Together everybody achieves more."

🔗 Links & Resources

• Follow Eric Wiklendt on LinkedIn
• Check out Speyside’s Website: speysideequity.com