Company: CODI-PB
Filing Date: 2025-02-27
Form Type: 10-K
Source: 0001345126-25-000015
Chunk: 164

Company: Compass Diversified Holdings
Filing Date: 2025-02-27
Form: 10-K
Item: Item 1
Chunk 164
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 Given these dynamics, we believe the industry will likely favor players that are able to achieve vertical integration and a diversification of offerings across a breadth of products along with magnet engineering and design expertise. The focus will be engineering solutions together with its customers. 

Barriers to Entry

•    Low Substitution Risk – Arnold’s solutions are typically specified into its customers’ program designs through a co-development and qualification process that often takes 6-18 months. Arnold’s customers are typically contractors and component manufacturers whose products are integrated into end-customers’ applications. The high cost of failure, relatively low proportionate cost of magnets to the final product, sometimes lengthy testing and qualification process, and substantial upfront co-engineering investment required, represent significant barriers to customers changing solution providers such as Arnold.

•   Equipment and Processing – Arnold’s existing base of production equipment has a significant estimated replacement cost. A new entrant could require as much as 2-3 years of lead time to match the process performance requirements, customization of equipment and material formulations necessary to effectively compete in the specialty magnet industry. Further, given the program nature of a majority Arnold’s sales, management estimates that it could take 5-10 years to build a sufficient book of business and base of institutional knowledge to generate positive cash flow out of a new manufacturing plant.

Suppliers and Manufacturing 

Raw materials utilized by Arnold include neodymium, samarium, dysprosium, nickel and cobalt, stainless steel shafts, Inconel sleeves, adhesives, laminates, aluminum extrusions and binders. Although Arnold considers its relationships with vendors to be strong, Arnold’s management team also maintains a variety of alternative sources of comparable quality, quantity and price. The management team therefore believes that it is not dependent upon any single vendor to meet its sourcing needs. Arnold is generally able to pass through material costs to its customers and believes that in the event of significant price increases by vendors that it could pass the increases to its customers.

Arnold has a wide variety of manufacturing capabilities. For permanent magnets and assemblies our magnets are produced and fabricated utilizing personnel, skills, tools, and specific machinery to convert raw materials into finished magnet and then integration of those magnets and machines components into devices or sub-assemblies. Orders are all built to specific customer needs and distributed directly from our manufacturing facilities located worldwide. 

Research and Development

Arnold has a core research and development team with extensive industry experience located at its Technology Center. In addition to the Technology Center, a large number of other Arnold staff members assigned