Roots of Success: How Madera Pumps and Alpine Investors are Teaming Up to Serve Farmers

When Matt Angell and Trisha Tolbert decided to find a new owner for their pump and well services company, Madera Pumps, they were looking for shared values—someone who understood both their big dreams and the family environment they’d built. That’s what they found in Axia, a water services vertical led by CEO Amanda Neilson and the newest division of Alpine Investors-backed platform Alpine X. Below, Matt and Trisha reflect on the path to this partnership, explain why they chose Alpine and Amanda, and share their excitement for the future of Madera, Axia, and their team.

What brought each of you to Madera Pumps?

Matt: I joined in late 2012, and before that I had retired from irrigation—I’d developed a vineyard for The Wine Group, and the plan was for me to stay and farm it. But they knew I was a water guy, so they’d send me to other ranches to fix wells, and I found myself really liking that. Wells were new to me, but I’m naturally curious and I like a challenge. And we were in a drought, so it was definitely a challenge.

Right around that time, I got a call from two of the original founding partners of Madera. As my mom says, “Pay attention to coincidences.” I became a partner. We were able to innovate on pump design over the next couple of years, and we grew enough that we needed to bring on someone who was great with finances. So Trisha joined in 2015.

Trisha: I’m originally from Silicon Valley and had an IT company there. But my parents had moved here to the Central Valley, and 12 years ago my kids and I did, too. Eventually, I started toying with the idea of working locally, and my daughter, who by then had started working at Madera, came home one day and said, “Mom, you have to meet Matt. He’s the male version of you!” She was right—Matt and I are both curious and have a similar work ethic. We met for coffee, and I joined as controller.

Why is working in water so important to you?

Matt: I grew up in Central Valley; my family’s been here for 100 years. So I know everyone in the area, and I know that a 16-inch hole in the ground can mean everything. If you want to understand how important water is, try turning off the line to your house and see how fast you check into a hotel! During the drought that started in 2011, we’d get six calls a day from people whose wells had failed. They put their trust in us. We worked around the clock to help them—and we did. Every one of our growers made it through.

Trisha: Exactly—it’s important because of the people depending on us. This is their livelihood, their lives. Some of their grandparents farmed here, and their grandparents’ grandparents before them. So our relationships with our growers aren’t just business. These are our friends, our families, our community.

How did you first connect with Alpine?

Trisha: After Madera’s founders passed away, we decided to find a partner. Water conditions are dynamic right now, and that requires a very sophisticated approach to designing and implementing systems. We had a wonderful team we knew could take things to the next level, and we wanted someone who could help.

We’d been looking and talking to other investors for nine months when we met Alpine, but this was a special connection. My first impression was, “Amanda is amazing.” It was also exciting that a woman would be Axia’s CEO, and Alpine’s PeopleFirst approach really resonated with us. We have high expectations at Madera, but we take care of our team; we understand they have lives outside of work. It was clear that was a shared value.

It was also exciting that a woman would be Axia’s CEO, and Alpine’s PeopleFirst approach really resonated with us. We have high expectations at Madera, but we take care of our team; we understand they have lives outside of work. It was clear that was a shared value.

Matt: Yes. We saw how much Alpine and Madera could learn from each other, but it was also a convergence of two teams of smart, caring people. We’re a family here, and we wanted a partner with the same heart.

Trisha: But we still take care of business!

Matt: [laughs] Absolutely; Trisha is dead serious about that.

Tell us more about why you chose Alpine. What was it that made Axia and Amanda feel like such a good fit?

Trisha: Matt mentioned how Madera and Axia can learn from each other; that knowledge transfer was appealing. I believe in Axia’s model because I know how much Madera has to offer, and other companies that join will, too. Plus, everyone we talked to had such great things to say about working at Alpine—and they were so ambitious, which was very important to us. The success we’ve had over the years is a testament to Matt’s leadership. He’s willing to try things others won’t. In fact, he’s eager to! We were looking for a partner with that same large-scale vision.

And Amanda really is a perfect fit. Her background is in agriculture, so she understands the intensity of this business in a way others might not. She knows this is hard work.

Matt: My immediate impression of Amanda was that she’s determined and fearless—which is crucial. To be a good leader, I think empathy is most important, but courage is right up there. It’s a lot of pressure. You have to be resilient. I see the same qualities in Amanda that I saw in Trisha when she came on board. And as she said, that’s what we need. We’re looking to change the game, from how we engage our people to how we design pumps and wells. We built the processes we have today by being scrappy and innovative. Now, adding the intellectual horsepower of Amanda and Alpine is going to help us keep growing.

What’s most exciting to you right now in terms of the future for Madera and Axia?

Matt: Any change brings new ideas, and in this case, it’s a complete paradigm shift—we’re bringing Alpine’s growth playbook together with the essential services Madera provides. We always wondered what something like that would look like, and I think the toolset we’ll have access to as part of Axia is super exciting. Things like artificial intelligence and geographic information systems, which can help us better understand the geological and hydrological features of the Valley and categorize it in a way no one’s ever done before.

We’ve built a culture at Madera where anything is possible, and it’s the same at Alpine. So I think having more smart people looking at what we’re doing and thinking about how to push those limits—that’s just about the most exciting thing in the world.

We’ve built a culture at Madera where anything is possible, and it’s the same at Alpine. So I think having more smart people looking at what we’re doing and thinking about how to push those limits—that’s just about the most exciting thing in the world.

Trisha: Absolutely. Matt mentioned horsepower; that sums it up right there. We’re a small company, so having more resources and more ideas—it’s going to allow us to focus on what’s most important and put systems in place to work smarter, not harder. And as we get to the next level as a company, we want to help our team members do that, too. We’ve always tried to give them opportunities to expand their tool set, whether that’s a new license or classification or moving into a different department or a leadership role. But with Axia, especially as it expands, there are just going to be so many more of those opportunities, so many new ways they can stretch. People are going to be able to really reach for the stars. I can’t wait to see what that looks like.

Certain statements about Alpine made by portfolio company executives herein are intended to illustrate Alpine’s business relationship with such persons, including with respect to Alpine’s facilities as a business partner, rather than Alpine’s capabilities or expertise with respect to investment advisory services. Portfolio company executives were not compensated in connection with their participation, although they generally receive compensation and investment opportunities in connection with their portfolio company roles, and in certain cases are also owners of portfolio company securities and/or investors in Alpine-sponsored vehicles. Such compensation and investments subject participants to potential conflicts of interest in making the statements herein. Past performance not indicative of future results. Results may vary materially and adversely. Please see Alpine’s Terms of Use for additional disclaimers.