Blue Point's National Safety Apparel buys Indiana glove manufacturer

Cleveland-based National Safety Apparel (NSA) has acquired Tri-Star Glove, an Indiana manufacturer of gloves and other personal protective apparel.

It also said it’s not done buying and is looking for other acquisition opportunities.

The announcement comes on the heels of the company partnering with Cleveland private equity investor Blue Point Capital and is another example of a company buying competitors with new capital from the investment group.

“Tri-Star Glove is NSA’s 14th acquisition since 2012 and the first investment since partnering with Blue Point less than two months ago,” Blue Point said in announcing the acquisition. It did not disclose its investment in NSA or the terms of acquisition.

Tri-Star founders Rod Townsend and Eric Moll, who will stay on, indicated they were drawn to both NSA’s strength in the industry, and the growth that can be achieved with the investor’s support.

“NSA is a market leader and acquirer of choice in the safety solutions space,” Townsend in a release. “Eric and I are proud to be joining NSA’s portfolio of companies with Blue Point’s support, as we sincerely feel this team will honor our combined 93 years of industry experience with a commitment to advancing Tri-Star's business and its employees.”

The two companies do not disclose their revenues, but NSA is the much larger of the two, with a reported headcount of 975, compared to 42 at Tri-Star.

NSA isn’t the first company to start making more acquisitions with Blue Point’s money and urging. For instance, the automotive supply company Transtar Industries credited its partnership with Blue Point for providing it with the capital it has needed to make a string of recent acquisitions.

Townsend referred to NSA as the “acquirer of choice in the safety solutions space.”

Blue Point, in an outright solicitation of other acquisition opportunities for NSA, said the company “is actively seeking additional partnerships with like-minded founders and owners of PPE (personal protective equipment) manufacturing businesses.”