Collins & Aikman sells commercial mat unit to Superior

CHICAGO (June 4)—Superior Manufacturing Group Inc., a fixture in the rubber industry since 1948, has acquired rights to the Akro brand name and logo. Superior will pay Collins & Aikman Corp. an undisclosed amount for Akro Mats L.L.C's book of business, inventories, tradename and trademark, a Superior spokesman said. Akro, which posted $20 million in sales last year, employs about 100 at 600,000 square feet of manufacturing and warehousing space in Zanesville, Ohio. However, the facility and employees are not part of the deal.The employees will be phased out gradually as the equipment and operations are moved from the area and the plant is leased, a spokesman for Collins & Aikman said. Superior, which produces its own rubber, vinyl and carpeted commercial mats under the Notrax brand, will absorb Akro's production into its Calhoun, Ga., and Chicago plants.