SMART Safety Gulf Coast Expands Depth of Capabilities and Reach into Tennessee and Texas

ATLANTA & NEW ORLEANS--Carr's Hill Capital Partners Management, L.P. ( "Carr's Hill"), a New Orleans-based private equity firm, today announced that its portfolio company, SMART Safety Gulf Coast ("SMART Gulf Coast"), a leading national safety and compliance services provider, has significantly expanded the depth of its capabilities and the reach of its services through the additions of AMC Safety ("AMC") and Safe Construction Consulting ("SCC"). The acquisition of these two respected safety firms strengthens what SMART Gulf Coast delivers to customers and expands the regions it serves.

Headquartered in Nashville and founded by Larry Irwin in 1993, AMC brings a long-standing reputation for responsive service and trusted client relationships. AMC brings full safety program management, expanded staffing, and enhanced training and workforce development capabilities, deepening SMART Gulf Coast's reach across the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic, including Tennessee. Founded by Eric Stephan, SCC brings more than 40 years of construction safety experience in consulting, jobsite inspections and OSHA training with bilingual English and Spanish instruction, and extends SMART Gulf Coast's reach across Texas and Oklahoma. The teams at both AMC and SCC remain in place, continuing to operate from their existing offices while serving their existing clients with the founders supporting a smooth leadership transition.

SMART Gulf Coast is excited to partner with clients from both AMC and SCC, who gain access to SMART Gulf Coast's people, resources and proprietary SMARTWorld platform for advanced auditing, reporting, corrective action and compliance. The acquisitions reflect SMART Gulf Coast's continued investment in deeper expertise and broader geographic reach, while maintaining and continuing to build upon its strong customer base.

"Our mission has always been to help clients build safer, stronger operations, and growing our team lets us do that for more companies, in more places, with even greater depth," said Blake Beach, Chief Executive Officer of SMART Gulf Coast. "AMC and SCC share our commitment to professionalism, responsiveness and safety excellence. Together, they expand both what we can do and where we can do it, without losing the trusted relationships our clients value."

The two acquisitions mark the latest step in a growth plan that Carr's Hill has backed since first investing in SMART Gulf Coast in 2023, pairing organic expansion with disciplined, strategic add-ons.

"Adding AMC and SCC is exactly the kind of growth we set out to support: well-run safety-first firms with loyal customers that broaden capabilities and extend reach into new markets," said Michael Gude, Vice President at Carr's Hill. "We see real momentum here, and we look forward to helping the team build on it as Smart Gulf Coast continues to scale."

Together, the additions bring trusted brands, recurring customer relationships and complementary service lines that strengthen SMART Gulf Coast's platform and reinforce its position as a leader in the safety services industry.