M&A Spotlight: Astrak

Astrak continues to expand its global footprint, with M&A a crucial tool for building scale and customer value.

Inflexion has been working with fast-growing family business Astrak Group since 2022, with the investment allowing some shareholders to fulfil their wishes to step back, while others raced ahead with organic- and acquisition-fuelled growth. The Scotland-based business is a global specialist supplier of undercarriage and wear parts for tracked machinery and earthmoving equipment.

Alongside organic growth, acquisitions are playing a key role in Astrak’s strategy to expand into high-growth markets and enhance its customer-first approach to global distribution and sales optimisation under the Powered by Astrak brand. Clients will begin to experience the benefits of this integration throughout 2026, including improved service levels, logistics efficiencies and an expanded product range. This matters in construction equipment markets where downtime is costly. 

Astrak’s approach to M&A is very selective. “What we’re looking for with acquisitions is companies like us, offering the same or similar products and services,” says Dick Paterson, Astrak’s CEO. While some acquisitions have brought additional products into the group, its main objective has been to deepen Astrak’s core offering rather than dilute it. “We’re a relatively narrow and deep supplier. There are others with much broader ranges, but we’re looking for focus.”

This is evident in Astrak’s European operations, where the business has long-standing relationships across the market. The acquisition of Terrapart followed an existing commercial connection, while Frillesås Bil & Traktor – rebranded as Astrak Sweden – was already a customer. “We knew these businesses relatively well,” Dick explains. “So when the owners wanted to retire or move on, it was a natural progression that we were invited to the table.”

Setting up State-side

Astrak’s first acquisition following Inflexion’s investment ultimately inspired an organic move into the US market. The Terrapart acquisition provided an established US customer base, and engaging with them opened management’s eyes to the scale of opportunity – not only to expand the product range, but to serve customers more comprehensively on the ground.

While a US acquisition was initially considered, that route proved less straightforward than expected. “We found an acquisition prospect in Houston and at the same time met some individuals there who knew the market well,” Dick recalls. “The plan was to put the two together.” Ultimately, the owners of the target business could not agree on whether to exit, but by that point Astrak had already begun building a local presence. Rather than step back, the business chose to proceed organically.

“That decision worked out well for us,” Dick reflects. “We’d already set the team up, so we decided to go ahead and start from scratch.” It’s been a success: today, Astrak operates across three US locations – Houston, Dallas and Austin – providing workshop facilities, warehousing and a regional headquarters. Establishing these sites in the US has enabled faster delivery of replacement undercarriage parts, on-site fitting and measuring, and reduced equipment downtime for customers.

Astrak’s North American footprint was further strengthened through the acquisition of Xtreme Parts, a Canadian business with much of its client roster in the US. Having an established US presence allowed Astrak to restructure supply flows, supplying US customers from the US rather than across the border. This proved particularly valuable during a period of tariff volatility. “We spent much of 2025 negotiating with suppliers and changing supply chains,” Dick recalls. Having a US base helped mitigate the impact. “Had we only been in Canada, it would have been very different.”

Beyond North America and Europe, Astrak extended its reach into Australasia with the acquisition of West-Trak in New Zealand, followed by TKV in Australia. Astrak already knew both businesses through shared suppliers and trade-show relationships, and entered dialogue with them early in Inflexion’s investment period. They completed the New Zealand transaction before progressing the Australian deal, with more to come as Dick is certain the region continues to offer opportunities.

Supporting success

Growing at such a pace and with such geographic spread requires the right leadership team. Within the first few months of partnering in 2022, Inflexion introduced an experienced CFO who had previously worked with the firm. “The new CFO worked out brilliantly and brought skillsets we didn’t have,” Dick says. Importantly, the appointment was collaborative. “They didn’t impose him on us. They said, ‘Have a chat and see what you think.’ He’s done this before – and that matters.”

Throughout a period of market softness – particularly in 2024 and 2025, when construction activity slowed – Inflexion continued to support Astrak’s long-term ambitions. “We wouldn’t, as a family business, have gone to the US ourselves,” Dick reflects. “We knew the opportunity was there, but we needed a partner to say, ‘This is a good idea – we’ll back you.’ Even when times have been tough, Inflexion have been supportive.”

Astrak is on track to keep going stronger and farther. The management team is targeting revenues of £200 million by 2028, through a combination of organic growth and further acquisitions. The pipeline is active, particularly in the US, where Astrak expects to complete several additional transactions over the next two years. “The US is where we’ll concentrate our efforts,” Dick says. “It’s the best bang for buck for us.”