Rush Tracking Systems Acquired by Private Equity Firm

"We did an open-field search of different companies in the space," says Jim Phillips, a partner at Pharos Capital. "We decided, in the end, that we wanted to invest in an integrator, and several analysts and others in the space suggested Rush Tracking. We found it was a good fit with their management, philosophy and existing customer base."

Pharos likes the RFID market, Phillips says, and will likely make further investments in Rush Tracking Systems and other companies in that sector. "The industry has gone through fits and starts," he states. "We could be a little early, but companies are starting to see value in RFID, and we think the market will come to us."

Chuck Thompson, Rush Tracking Systems' VP of sales, says the desire to promote the VisibleEdge solution does not mean the firm is abandoning its role as a systems integrator. "We are still very focused on helping companies understand the value of the visibility that RFID provides," he says. "So we're still focused on helping them do ROI assessments, and then helping them deploy systems for tracking finished goods, work-in-process and so on."

"We're finding a lot of the focus is around the lift truck," Thompson adds. "When we come across those opportunities, we feel we have an edge. We can explain the value and have product that is ready to be deployed. Now we have the financial backing to develop more solution sets."

According to Rush, the Pharos investment is a "vote of confidence" in what his company has accomplished over the past seven years, as well as in its future plans. "We think this will elevate and separate us from competitors in our space," he states.