Marshall Street Capital and Claridges Trust Company were established in 2015, but their roots date back to the mid-1800s and the rise of the Albert Trostel & Sons Leather Company in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
Our Beginning
Albert Trostel & Sons was founded in 1858 and built its business on providing leather boots for soldiers in the Civil War, as well as leather accessories for horse-drawn transportation.
The company continued to grow, refining the art of leather processing during the industrial age and adapting and diversifying to create leather seals and gaskets for military machinery during World War II.
Starting in the 1950s, Albert Trostel & Sons, now known for its innovation and entrepreneurial spirit, began further diversifying and acquiring other companies, most notably the acquisition of Eagle Ottawa Leather Company in the early 1960s. The leather operations of Albert Trostel & Sons were merged with Eagle Ottawa, a supplier of automotive leather, and the merged business retained the Eagle Ottawa name.
In the 1950s, Albert Trostel & Sons also opened a new entity in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin. Albert Trostel Packings, Ltd. (renamed Trostel, Ltd. in the 1990s) was established for the production of leather packings and rubber seals and later expanded to include synthetic rubber, thermoplastic elastomer and cast urethane products used across various industries.
In 1962, following the death of the founder’s grandson Albert O. Trostel, Jr., long-time executive Everett G. Smith became president of Albert Trostel & Sons.
In the 1960s, separate from his involvement with Albert Trostel & Sons, Everett Smith had taken controlling interests in several other companies, including Maysteel, a sheet metal fabrication company; and Blackhawk Leather, a manufacturer of split leathers for shoes, garments and handbags. Both businesses were located in southeastern Wisconsin.
Everett G. Smith
Our Growth
In 1974, Everett Smith Group (ESG) was formed as a holding company for Mr. Smith’s interests in Maysteel, Blackhawk and his growing ownership stake in Albert Trostel & Sons. ESG continued to invest in new industries including the steel casting business Sivyer Steel in the mid 1980s; thermoplastics businesses Dickten & Masch Plastics and Techniplas in the early 2000s; and electronic assembly company Onyx in the early 2000s. In addition, by 2010, ESG had acquired full control of Albert Trostel & Sons and its subsidiaries Eagle Ottawa and Trostel, Ltd.
Over four decades, ESG’s subsidiaries grew to $1B in revenue with offices and operating facilities across the globe, including the U.S., Argentina, Brazil, China, England, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Japan, Korea, Mexico and Thailand. The growth was driven by a focus on innovation, continuous improvement and strong management, which positioned the subsidiaries as leaders in the manufacture of premium automotive leather, sheet metal enclosures, rubber compounds, rubber seals, thermoplastics products, urethane products, utility products and electronic assemblies.
In the 2010s, ESG began strategically reallocating capital. It divested of certain operating companies, beginning with the sale of Dickten Masch Plastics in 2010, followed by the sale of Onyx Worldwide and Trinetics, a division of Maysteel, in 2012. In 2013, the remainder of Maysteel was sold. In 2015, ESG completed the sale of Eagle Ottawa, and in late 2016, ESG sold its last legacy operating company, Trostel Ltd.
Our Future
Marshall Street Capital was established in 2014 to manage the assets derived from the sale of these operating companies.
Our Leadership
Everett Smith Group and its successor, Marshall Street Capital, have had strong family leadership. Mr. Smith lead the organization from the 1960s through the late 1990s. Thomas Hauske, Jr., Mr. Smith’s grandson, worked at the Everett Smith Group and its subsidiaries since the 1980s, became Chairman in the late 2000s and took controlling interest in the company in 2010. Mr. Hauske has also been Chairman of Marshall Street Capital since its inception in 2014.
In addition to family leadership, the organization has also had professional management. Anders Segerdahl, a long-time executive at Eagle Ottawa, took over from Mr. Smith as CEO of the Everett Smith Group and held that position until 2006 when he retired.
J. Douglas Gray became CEO of the Everett Smith Group in 2006 upon Mr. Segerdahl’s retirement. Mr. Gray, in partnership with Mr. Hauske, led the organization through significant transformation over the next 10 years including the sale of the existing portfolio of operating businesses and transitioning to the current diversified investment portfolio.