CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa—Apache Hose and Belting Co. has purchased Trico Belting & Supply Co., a supplier of light-duty conveyor belting in North America.
The acquisition is the fifth by Apache—which does business as Apache Inc.—in the past five years, the company said. Trico Belting & Supply has sites in Cincinnati, Ohio, and Chicago.
Apache said its expertise in the heavy-duty belting market is an ideal fit with Trico expertise in light-duty belting.
Last September Apache changed its business model from selling directly to end users, and now concentrates its sales efforts on distributors, dealers and original equipment manufacturer customers. With this change Apache's and Trico's market approaches are consistent, the firm said, and is a key element in the strategic alignment that enabled the companies to come together seamlessly.
"This acquisition is Apache's largest one to date, and we are thrilled to bring on board the expertise and commitment to excellence of John Shafer and the team at Trico," said Tom Pientok, Apache president and CEO. "When you consider the combination of these two highly complementary, well-known names in the industry, this acquisition simply makes sense."
Trico President John Shafer said the companies are a natural fit.
"This acquisition brings together two great companies with a strong passion for customer service and helps provide distributor and OEM customers with more of the products, services, solutions and technical expertise," he said.
Shafer will stay on with the company.