As for the company itself, Harwood Rubber is not going anywhere and neither are its employees. Manna said they will all remain with the company on Orlen Avenue and likely see more coworkers join them as the company grows. Manna said M7 has already confirmed it will keep all of Harwood’s 20 employees.
The deal is the first for M7, which Manna formed in 2023, but Harwood is not M7’s only holding by a longshot, since Manna folded into it other companies his family office had already been acquiring and investing in. Between M7 Holdings and other Manna-controlled vehicles, the family now has 20 companies in its portfolios. Manna invests in other, early-stage companies in which he takes minority stakes through an entity called M7 ACE NEO, separately, he said. He also makes real estate investments through yet another entity, Signet.
Harwood might seem like a mature company in a mature industry. The company makes rubber rollers and other rubber products for a variety of industries. But with annual sales of between $5 million and $10 million, Manna thinks Harwood is in a position to find new growth.
The company has a heavy presence in industrial applications, automotive manufacturing and even construction, with more opportunities available to it via investment and product development, Manna figures.
“It has great people—we’ve talked to them all. And we will be investing in a lot of different things there,” Manna said. “We’ll be investing in new products and new delivery systems. … We also plan to do strategic acquisitions.”
As a privately held company, M7 can afford to be patient if it chooses. But, eventually, he hopes to see M7 expand well beyond its existing product lines.
“It will take a while, it won’t happen overnight,” he said. “But, like I said, we’re in it for the long haul.”
Harwood said he’s convinced.
“With over 25 years of entrepreneurial investing and manufacturing experience, M7 are long-term stewards of companies locally, nationally and internationally, proving their ability to further build on the successes my father and I have created,” Harwood said. “By partnering with M7, Harwood Rubber will be able to continue to provide the highest quality rubber roller products and services to our customers for many years to come.”
Meanwhile, M7 is itself still working on its move to Cleveland, where it spent $500,000 acquiring land in the Hough Neighborhood, next to Cleveland’s historic League Park, to build a $10 million headquarters.
Work there is progressing, Manna said.
“It’s under architectural design now,” he said. “We’ll be in there in 2025, probably by mid-2025."
