Global private equity firm Riverside Co. made a strategic investment in SureWerx, expanding its specialty manufacturing and distribution portfolio.

The investment is expected to help SureWerx add complementary new products to its offerings. Riverside operating partner Eric Nowlin will become nonexecutive chairman at SureWerx.

SureWerx, which has its headquarters in Vancouver, British Columbia, and Elgin, Ill., provides proprietary branded professional safety products, tools and equipment for general industrial, construction, energy and automotive aftermarket applications. It has a customer base of more than 3,500 in North America.

Golub Capital provided debt financing for the transaction, with Jones Day and KPMG serving as the legal counsel and accounting adviser, respectively.