As we reflect on 2024, we are proud to celebrate a year of meaningful progress anchored in our focus on people, safety, and growth—both organic and inorganic—all while delivering on our financial goals. These accomplishments underscore the strength of HBM’s supported autonomy model, the capabilities of our operating companies, and our ability to execute on key priorities. Meeting these milestones positions us for continued growth and creating continued value for our shareholders, employees, customers, and the communities we are privileged to serve.
This year marked a milestone with the largest platform acquisition in our history, as we welcomed Calcium Products to the HBM portfolio. Their industry leadership and innovation in agricultural solutions align seamlessly with our vision, and we’re excited to see the next chapter of growth under HBM’s ownership already underway. In addition, we welcomed Gilmore to the Control Devices platform, adding to our flow control platform. MLC had an extraordinary year, executing well on both strategy and operations to achieve new levels of high performance while welcoming new leaders to the team. Schafer Industries, despite some market headwinds, continued a focus on new programs, safety, and improving the employee experience. HarperLove, through a focus on innovation and new product development, is set up for long term growth and success and helped build an even stronger bench of talent for the future. We are very proud of all the work that transpired across our portfolio to advance our mission to build businesses and to empower people.
Our commitment to empowering people was reflected this year. The Finance and HR Summits brought together cross-company leaders to strengthen connections, share insights, and enhance the frameworks that support our people and business.
In addition, our 2024 Talent Connect event brought together over 100 leaders from across our portfolio to explore critical topics such as strategy, AI trends, and collaborative decision-making through an interactive exercise. These events were more than just gatherings—they offered meaningful opportunities to reflect on and reinforce our culture of supported autonomy, empowered people, and building business.
We capped off the year with recognition from the St. Louis Business Journal as one of the region’s top privately held companies (#26), a reflection of the dedication of our incredible teams and the success of our strategic vision.
We are also deeply grateful for the privilege of giving back and making a meaningful impact in our communities. This year, our charitable efforts supported vital causes through partnerships with United Way, Pedal the Cause, and many other organizations that our employees are passionate about, helping to create stronger, healthier communities where we live and work.
We placed a ton of focus on growth this year, both in terms of our team development and increasing the value of our business. We used a quote from Daniel Burnham, a leading architect from the 1800s:
“Make no little plans; they have no magic to stir men’s blood.” We have used this as a theme for many of our internal discussions. This bold thinking challenges us, drives our progress, and inspires those around us. It is this spirit of ambition and vision that fuels our journey into next year.
Looking ahead to 2025, we recognize the keys to our continued success:
- Operate safely: Safety remains our top priority across all companies and teams.
- Execute consistently: Delivering on our plans with discipline and focus is essential.
- Hire and develop talent: As we grow, evolving talent profiles and developing the right leaders at every level will be critical.
- Balance risk and discipline: Measured risks, balanced with a disciplined approach, will propel us forward.
With the momentum of 2024 and a commitment to our core values of integrity, relationships, and results, we are energized for the opportunities ahead. Here’s to continued growth and success in 2025!
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