Falfurrias Management Partners has invested in Industrial Design Solutions and RED Group and will combine the companies into a new platform focused on industrial automation and control systems integration. RED Group CEO Carl Fangue has been named CEO of the combined organization.
Industrial Design Solutions specializes in control systems integration, while RED Group provides operational technology and industrial control systems engineering services. Together, the companies will serve customers across data centers, utilities, power generation, water and wastewater, energy, maritime, chemicals, and manufacturing.
Falfurrias is positioning the combination to meet rising demand from data center construction, manufacturing reshoring, industrial AI adoption, aging infrastructure, and a shortage of skilled technical labor.
IDS brings expertise in distributed control systems, programmable logic controllers, and control-system upgrades. RED adds capabilities across operational technology and industrial control system infrastructure, creating a platform that can support customers from design and programming through fabrication and field services.
These investments mark the first transactions under Falfurrias Capital Partners’ current industrial automation thesis since its 2018 investment in E Technologies Group. Falfurrias executives Jubal Early and Chip Johnson will serve on the combined company’s board alongside other industry executives and RED Group founder Kyle Remont.
Falfurrias has raised approximately $4 billion across eight funds and invests in growing middle-market companies where its operational resources and sector expertise can support expansion.
KEY QUOTES:
“Industrial automation demand is accelerating as data center buildouts and an aging workforce push owners toward integrators who can execute quickly and at a high standard. IDS and RED bring complementary capabilities, end markets, and geographies, and Carl is the right leader to unite the combined companies. Together, they represent where the future of industrial automation is headed.”
Jubal Early, Vice President At Falfurrias
“IDS and RED bring decades of experience that utilities, data center operators, and industrial manufacturers count on for expansion. We look forward to supporting Carl and the team through their next phases of growth.”
Chip Johnson, Partner At Falfurrias
“Our customers are managing increasingly complex modernization efforts and bringing new capacity online faster than ever, and they need one partner they can trust to deliver across every layer of their control systems and OT environments. Together, IDS and RED cover that full range, with the engineering and geographic reach we need to bring that model to a greater market. I’m honored to lead this team, and with Falfurrias’ support, build the scaled organization our customers need.”
Carl Fangue, CEO Of The Combined Platform And RED Group
“RED Group is built by engineers who understand the complexities and realities asset owners face. Our commitment to reliability has guided every project we’ve delivered, With Falfurrias and IDS, we will take that same standard our customers depend on to a much larger scale.”
Kyle Remont, Founder Of RED Group
“For more than two decades, IDS has earned the trust of utilities and industrial operators by delivering expert and competitive control systems work. Partnering with Falfurrias and RED allows us to pursue larger programs, bring a broader set of capabilities to our customers and train the next generation of engineers.”
Andy Rohde, Executive Vice President Of Industrial Design Solutions
