MOOSUP, Conn.—Griswold L.L.C. has purchased the sponge rubber sheet and roll business of Expanded Rubber Products Inc. to continue on a growth trek it began last year.
Included in the transaction is equipment associated with the acquired business from Expanded Rubber's facility in Sanford, Maine, but not the plant itself, Griswold CEO Dan Mahoney said.
Expanded Rubber has a good reputation and has been a formidable competitor of Griswold for many years, he said. “We see this acquisition as an excellent opportunity to grow our sponge rubber business. Griswold will continue its commitment to product innovation and excellent customer service.”
Because a factory was not involved in the transaction, Griswold is moving the business to its production facility in Moosup, where the company is headquartered.
Financial details were not disclosed by the companies, nor did they say how many, if any, employees would be impacted by the sale.
Mahoney said Griswold and Expanded Rubber's sponge rubber sheet and roll business make similar products and, because of that, “we can satisfy our new customers' requirements from here in Connecticut.”
Expanded Rubber, which was established in 1968, sold the business to focus on new and different product lines, according to Clayton Ney, a principal at the company. “After 35 years of manufacturing sheet sponge, the opportunity that exists for our customers with this acquisition far exceeds any and all efforts that we could have offered,” he said.
It will continue to produce its products at the company's facility in Maine.
Formed in 1949, Griswold has been in a growth mode since the company was purchased by Dallas-based Strait Lane Capital Partners L.L.C., a privately held investment firm focused on middle market businesses, in October 2015.
Prior to the acquisition, it was listed as Griswold Corp.; the company was renamed Griswold L.L.C. after the deal was completed.
Griswold didn't wait long after that to make its next expansion move. Earlier this year, the company said it was diversifying its operation after it purchased and installed a new production line at the firm's plant to fill an existing customer's requirements for products. That opened the door for the company to diversify its offerings.
It said in February it added thermoplastic elastomer foam extrusions in solid and foam profiles to its portfolio. The company noted that TPEs can be recycled and offer excellent tear/elongation characteristics along with the ability to thermoform in a secondary process.