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History

Early businesses and metal industry involvement

Following graduation in 1970, Robert Alpert engaged in industrial manufacturing. He was involved in a family partnership which acquired, operated, or liquidated numerous manufacturing operations in the metalworking industries in Michigan, Ohio, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Thailand and Canada.

  • U. S. Aluminum – Highland Park, Michigan

  • Republic Steel Nut & Bolt Division – Cleveland, Ohio

  • Budd Forge Company – Warren, Michigan

  • Canadian Acme Screw & Gear, Fastener Division – Toronto, Ontario

  • National Machine Products, Division SPS Technologies – Utica, Michigan

  • Roebling Division, CF&I Steel Corporation – Roebling, New Jersey

Other industry involvements

From 1979 to 1987 Alpert developed and operated a state-of-the art $100 million tubular processing factory in Muskogee, Oklahoma. Since 1987, he has formed numerous companies to pursue investments in emerging environmental companies, oil services, the automotive sector, and a variety of special situations involving the acquisition of undervalued assets. These acquisitions included the tubular steel division assets of Babcock & Wilcox located in three states including 6 million square feet of manufacturing facilities, the purchase of $800 million of aircraft and engine spare parts inventory from the Bankruptcy Estate of Eastern Air Lines, Inc., oil service equipment, raw materials and manufacturing equipment.

Career success

Cumulatively, Robert Alpert has executed over 50 industrial start-ups. Robert Alpert has developed a unique expertise in project development, project finance, and consolidation. Robert Alpert’s career has been marked by many successful business acquisitions and industry consolidations. He was an original founder of Republic Industries which evolved into Auto Nation and Republic Industries. In addition, he has been a principal and founder of other diverse publicly owned enterprises including Aviation Sales Corporation (an aviation parts distributor and maintenance, repair and overhaul company), and PalEx, which evolved into IFCO Systems, USA Waste which evolved to become Waste Management among others as part of his merchant banking activities. Mr. Alpert co-founded a merchant-banking group, Mainstreet Capital Partners in Houston, Texas which assembled numerous consolidations in fragmented industries and evolved into a New York Stock Exchange financial services company.

 

As a result of Robert Alpert’s multi-industry background he has elected to invest time and capital to mentor a handful of high growth companies either individually or in conjunction with other large institutional investors.

Land ’N’ Sea Corporation

In 1997, Robert Alpert acquired the assets of Kinetics.com that evolved into Land ‘N’ Sea Corporation. Mr. Alpert was the Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Land ’N’ Sea Corporation.

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Land ‘N’ Sea Corporation developed the leading integrated marine channel for business-to-business, e-commerce and consumer marketing in the $23 billion recreational boating industry. Land ‘N’ Sea Distribution, Inc. (“LNS”), a company division, became the largest marine parts and accessories wholesaler in the United States. The Company developed integrated, internet-based tools and services that enhance the entire recreational marine supply chain from manufacturers to dealers to consumers in a manner that did not conflict with established channels of distribution.

 

The company grew to become the largest source for marine parts and accessories and the industry’s leading digital network for the cost-effective exchange of information, products and services. In 2004 Brunswick Corporation purchased Land ‘N’ Sea as the platform to expand the business model to all international markets. Brunswick is the largest boat manufacturing and marine propulsion group in the world.

Education

  • Michigan State University

  • University of London

  • Harvard Law School (field study)

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