Because both Ace and Uniseal are headquartered in Evansville, moving the facility into the Ace fold has been relatively seamless, Robards said, “thanks to the relationship we have with Uniseal, the efforts of our management team and the new Ace team members that joined with us following the acquisition.”
Ace plans to transfer its headquarters from its 20,000-sq.-ft. facility in Evansville to the new site, he said. That will free needed space at its original building, which extrudes cured dense and closed-cell sponge goods.
Gaining additional space will allow the firm to add more machinery and gives it room for future expansion, he said. “We really needed room to grow.”
Ace's acquired facility also will house mixing and formulating operations, and a quality control department committed to ISO and TS standards, the company said.
Uniseal is a large company, Robards noted, and it had a plant devoted to extrusion, which appealed to Ace, a company that was looking to expand further to handle the growing needs of its customers.
Uniseal produces custom designed automotive products, including cellular foam, thermoplastics and structural reinforcements. It sold the extrusion business to focus on its core products.
By acquiring the division, Robards said, “we can now custom formulate and custom mix. ... It expands our capabilities.” Most importantly, he noted, “we have a team that has the expertise to accommodate the move. We're nowhere near capacity so we have a lot of room for growth.”
He said at its core, Ace specializes in extrusion. The acquisition expands the company's technology and the opportunity to diversify and add sealants and adhesives to its product mix. Those are important additions, he said, and they give the firm a much larger customer base.
