Dallas, Texas – January 21, 2026 – Sky Island Capital (“Sky Island”), a Dallas-based lower middle market private equity firm, is pleased to announce the sale of SkyMark Companies (“SkyMark” or the “Company”) to ATL Partners (“ATL”), a New York-based private equity firm.
Founded in 2013 and headquartered in Kansas City, SkyMark is a global leader in the design and manufacture of aircraft refueling trucks and hydrant dispensers as well as other transportation-related specialty vehicles for critical industries. SkyMark serves commercial and government customers across the aviation, liquid waste, rail maintenance, and bulk fuel transport markets.
Sky Island partnered with the founders and management team to execute a targeted growth strategy focused on further strengthening SkyMark’s industry-leading position in aviation and liquid waste while expanding the Company’s reach across adjacent end markets and geographies. Under the founders’ leadership, SkyMark expanded into multiple new end markets, vertically integrated its supply chain to entrench its competitive position, scaled its operational footprint through facility consolidations and expansions in several geographies, and leveraged its deep engineering expertise to expand its robust portfolio of mission-critical products and services. These collective efforts positioned SkyMark as a diversified platform with strong momentum for continued growth.
“Over the past several years, we built a broader, more efficient, and more capable company while staying true to what has always set SkyMark apart: engineering excellence, superior service, and an unwavering commitment to our customers,” said Steven Paul, CEO of SkyMark Companies. “This partnership marked an important chapter in SkyMark’s growth and evolution. Together, we expanded the breadth of SkyMark’s offering and continued to invest in the people and infrastructure that make us successful. We take great pride in what we’ve accomplished so far and are eager to continue building on that momentum going forward.”
“At SkyMark, we backed an exceptional management team with a strong strategic vision and the drive to execute upon it.” said Will Dobbs, Partner at Sky Island. “Steven and the team scaled the business by leveraging its core competencies while always staying true to the Company’s values, and the growth they achieved speaks for itself. It’s been a privilege working with the SkyMark team. We’re incredibly proud to have partnered with them and are excited to see where SkyMark goes from here.”
Robert W. Baird & Co served as financial advisor with D.A. Davidson & Co as co-advisor to Sky Island and SkyMark Companies in connection with the M&A transaction. Jones Day served as legal counsel to Sky Island and SkyMark Companies.
About Sky Island Capital
Sky Island Capital (www.skyislandcap.com) is a lower middle market private equity firm headquartered in Dallas, Texas that focuses exclusively on partnering with privately held manufacturing companies in North America. Sky Island was born out of the desire to work alongside entrepreneurs and family business owners to serve as a resource and strategic partner with one goal in mind – growth. Sky Island focuses on situations where it can draw upon its deep operational and management experience to support senior management in driving significant value creation through operational and strategic partnership.
About SkyMark Refuelers and KC Tank
SkyMark Refuelers (https://skymarkcompanies.com/) is the thought leader in designing and building the most technologically advanced aircraft refueling vehicles in the world, with equipment in service at airports across more than 40 countries. SkyMark serves the who’s who of fixed base operators, refueling contractors, military contractors, and commercial airports throughout North America and maintains strategic partnerships in Asia, the Middle East, and Central America. SkyMark’s FlowMark division is the nation’s largest source of vacuum tanks, chassis, and complete vacuum trucks for liquid waste removal. SkyMark’s RailTrucks division specializes in designing and building a lineup of specialized hi-rail trucks and direct-to-locomotive refueling trucks for customers in the rail industry, including Class I, II, and III railroads as well as large railroad maintenance and service contractors. Finally, SkyMark’s Refined Fuel division, launched in 2023, is a leading manufacturer and provider of fuel transportation and dispensing solutions for a variety of industries, including residential and commercial heating, vehicle and equipment fueling, construction site fueling, among others.
Bruder Tank serves customers across the United States, designing, manufacturing, and distributing a wide array of tanks including portable restroom service tanks, septic service tanks, and aviation refueling tanks, as well as tank trailers, slide-in tanks, refined fuel tanks, agricultural-use tanks, and water tanks. The Company has the versatility and expertise to manufacture stainless steel, aluminum, and carbon steel tanks, and is a registered DoT cargo tank manufacturer, ASME authorized manufacturer of pressure vessels, and a national board-certified R Stamp repair facility. Bruder was founded in 2014 and has more than 120 employees across three facilities.
For more information, please contact Will Dobbs or visit the website listed below:
Will Dobbs
Partner
