Wildcat Defense, the defense investment and operating arm of Wildcat Equity Partners, Miami, has entered a long-term partnership with Seattle-based Taqtile to deploy the company’s Manifest software at shipyards and other industrial businesses in its portfolio.
Manifest is a digital work instruction platform that helps frontline workers capture expertise, carry out complex procedures and document completed work, according to Taqtile.
Wildcat and Taqtile plan to work with local teams to identify priority workflows, record proven practices and introduce Manifest as companies join the Wildcat portfolio. The companies said the goals include getting new workers up to speed faster, reducing avoidable rework and making specialist knowledge easier to access. Lessons from individual deployments are expected to inform wider adoption across Wildcat’s businesses.
“The American worker is at the center of what we are building at Wildcat,” said Glenn Vogel, CEO of Wildcat Defense. “Expanding industrial capacity starts with giving people the tools, training and support to do demanding work well. Manifest gives us a practical way to capture the knowledge of our most experienced people and put it in the hands of every worker who needs it.”
Taqtile has worked with U.S. Department of Defense organizations, including Navy shipyard and aviation maintenance programs and Army maintenance and training initiatives. The company serves customers in defense, manufacturing, aerospace, energy and transportation.
“Our work with the Navy, Army, and other defense organizations has reinforced how much readiness depends on the person performing the task,” said Dirck Schou, CEO and co-founder of Taqtile. “The same is true in the shipyards and factories that build and maintain their equipment. With Wildcat, we have an opportunity to connect those efforts and help strengthen the workforce our military depends on.”
The agreement follows the launch of Wildcat Defense and its exclusive agreement to acquire Fraser Industries, parent of Fraser Shipyards and related maritime businesses in Superior, Wis. Wildcat has said it plans to invest $350 million in the yard to expand its workforce and manufacturing capacity. The Fraser transaction has not yet closed.
Separately, Wildcat Equity Partners’ Wildcat Infrastructure unit submitted a nonbinding proposal in September to acquire Mobile, Ala., shipbuilder Austal USA from its Australian parent, Austal Ltd. The offer of $1.25 billion to $1.35 billion on a cash-free, debt-free basis tops an earlier bid from Hanwha Defense USA and is subject to due diligence.
Bradley Geary, chief workforce officer for Wildcat Equity, said the firm intends to make Taqtile a lasting part of how it develops its businesses.
“As we add companies and invest in their growth, we want Manifest to help each team improve, then carry those lessons across the portfolio,” Geary said.
Wildcat Defense says it uses long-term family capital to develop U.S. and allied industrial capabilities, with investments in maritime operations, advanced manufacturing, critical materials and defense technologies.
