TEAM: Tools for Equitable Acquisitions in Manufacturing

Background

A major challenge facing the manufacturing sector is the impending “silver tsunami” of ownership transitions as business owners retire or seek to exit. While this shift poses risks to jobs, local economies, and community stability, it also presents a significant opportunity to advance employee ownership and local retention of industrial and community assets—if the right interventions are in place.

Compoundingly, small and mid-sized manufacturers often lack the time, capacity, or specialized guidance to navigate this complex process: from planning to implementation of a succession strategy. Traditional succession planning resources are either too generic or too expensive, and most tools available today do not speak directly to the realities of running a manufacturing business. This gap leaves many owners unprepared or unaware of viable alternatives to liquidation or third-party open sale (neither of which preserve local jobs, wealth, or other assets).

At the same time, the actors in the ecosystem meant to support these transitions (CDFIs, employee ownership organizations, TA providers, community wealth builders, etc) often operate in silos, nor do they have expertise in manufacturing specifically. Broadly, these entities rarely have opportunities to align on messaging, share learnings, or coordinate efforts. This fragmentation leads to duplicated work, inconsistent support, and missed opportunities to collectively shift the narrative and infrastructure around equitable business transitions, particularly for employee ownership in manufacturing.

Without a unified approach, even the best-intentioned interventions struggle to scale or drive systemic change for the sector. Addressing this disconnect is critical to increasing the adoption of employee ownership in manufacturing and ensuring these transitions benefit workers, communities, and the broader industrial economy.

TEAM (Tools for Equitable Acquisitions in Manufacturing) was initiated in 2021 by Mechanism, Concerned Capital, and Common Future to develop the capacity of community-based lenders to support the transitions of manufacturing businesses to new ownership, including to employees, with the goal of increasing racial equity and economic mobility within the manufacturing sector.

At the core of TEAM is the Exit Planning for Manufacturers tool: a no-risk, self-paced digital platform to guide owners through exit strategies and continuity planning. We created this in response to the lack of practical, manufacturer-specific resources for busy owners with limited time and support.

Our tool is intuitive and accessible, guiding users through topics like business valuation, continuity planning, and employee ownership. With the prototype now complete, our next phase includes additional testing and scaling, as well as adding storytelling elements (podcasts/videos/written case studies) to make learning more engaging and actionable. Designed for scalability, the platform will be modular and adaptable, integrating into existing regional employee ownership and other succession planning support systems.

We’re also building a succession planning referral ecosystem to connect business owners using the tool with aligned employee ownership organizations for legal, financial, and governance support. This includes a first-of-its kind convening for succession planning groups specifically focused on manufacturing. Our long-term goal is to ensure more locally rooted, employee-owned manufacturing companies that support resilient, equitable communities.

Together, these activities will create a supportive solution to manufacturing business owners and the larger employee ownership ecosystem as they look to transition ownership of their companies.

Our goal is to have 40 businesses engaging with, and 20 completing, the tool, and five core partners and 10+ supporting partners officially engaged in the referral system by the end of 2026.

Case studies are an important part of TEAM as they share the personal journey of the buyer of a manufacturing company and include the trials and celebrations that come with acquiring a business.

In today’s climate, communities (and the ecosystem of non-profits and other entities who support them) are facing myriad, interwoven challenges: changing governmental and policy priorities; increasingly risk-averse funders, who are also spread more thin; and deepening, urgent, and shifting needs from residents, businesses, and organizations. This landscape not only puts intersectional non-profits (like Mechanism) at risk, but also organizations in our network who are working day-in and day-out to support businesses, workers, and the communities they call home. This, in tandem with newly enacted tariffs and the oncoming wave of retirements by baby boomer-age manufacturing owners, will put additional stress on our manufacturing supply chains—of which small and mid-sized businesses are still the backbone, feeding necessary parts up to larger manufacturers.

Indeed, this project is a mitigation strategy itself: our tool and referral network are setting the stage to keep local production just that—local and community-rooted. The tool and referral network will help strengthen economic resilience, prevent displacement, and ensure that wealth generated through manufacturing stays within communities. Further, our field-building will create durable relationships, build efficiencies, reduce duplication, and increase collaboration to strengthen the succession planning ecosystem both locally and across the country. We see this as a moment of opportunity to bring together many players, create partnerships, and co-create lasting solutions.