Gauge Capital announced that it has partnered with the owners and management team of irth Solutions, Inc. to recapitalize the company. Founded in 1985 and headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, irth is a leading provider of 811 ticket management and field service management  software. irth’s software helps companies in the energy, utilities, and telecom sectors protect their critical assets.

Through irth’s UtiliSphere software platform, companies can process large volumes of activities and workflows, including 811 tickets, quickly and accurately to ensure the safety of workers and protection of underground assets. Additionally, irth offers several solutions in the broader FSM space, with solutions including vendor & employee qualification tracking, damage risk management, pigging, asset patrol management, and atmospheric corrosion detection.

“Our recent partnership with Gauge Capital marks the beginning of a new, exciting chapter for our company. ‘What’s in the best interest of our customers?’ will continue to be the question we ask ourselves as we expand our offerings. There is a large unaddressed segment of companies with critical assets, and with the recent investment from Gauge we plan to accelerate our market penetration, expand into other industry verticals, and develop additional solutions within the FSM space that satisfy unmet needs of our customers” said Trent Peugh, President and CEO of irth.

Tom McKelvey, Co-Founder and Managing Partner at Gauge Capital, said, “We are excited to partner with a business as well positioned as irth and to support Trent and the rest of the management team in their vision for the Company. They have been at the forefront of identifying and providing value-added services to customers with critical assets across a wide range of industries, and there is still substantial room for growth.”

As part of the investment, Tom McKelvey and Reid Barnett from Gauge Capital have joined the Company’s Board of Directors.

Vaquero Capital served as financial advisor to irth.

About irth Solutions (www.irthsolutions.com)

Founded in 1985, irth Solutions is a market-leading provider of 811 ticket management and field service management software, helping companies in the energy, utilities, and telecom sectors protect critical underground assets and enhance worker safety. The Company seeks to expand its 811 ticket offerings and improve safety, compliance, and efficiencies for its customers by providing a cost-effective, outsourced software solution.

In addition to its 811 ticket management platform, irth also offers a range of broader FSM solutions to field workers across the country.

About Gauge Capital (www.gaugecapital.com)

Gauge Capital is a private equity firm that partners with owners, managers and equity stakeholders of successful middle market companies to maximize their potential. Gauge Capital focuses on investing in growing services and technology-enabled companies in the business and consumer, healthcare, industrial and food sectors. For more information, please contact Andrew Peix, Principal and Director of Business Development at apeix@gaugecapital.com.