OKLAHOMA CITY—Maxcess International acquired Menges Roller Co. on Oct. 31 in its latest move to provide expanded services for targeted customers across multiple industries.
Oklahoma City-based Maxcess is a global provider of products and services for web handling applications. Menges Roller was a three-generational family business out of Illinois that supplies industrial rollers for the converting, plastic packaging, non-wovens, pulp and paper, and allied metal markets.
Menges joined a list of other companies that had been purchased recently by Maxcess, including Valley Roller, Webex, Fife, Tidland and Magpowr.
"We're buying all blue-chip companies," Maxcess CEO Greg Jehlik said. "Our goal with every acquisition we've made is to turn two businesses that were separate into one strong organization through capital investment in products and people."
The seeds of the Menges acquisition were sewn three years ago when Menges President Matt Menges and Jehlik floated the idea of a similar deal in casual conversations. The timing wasn't right at the time for the Wauconda, Ill.-based company, but Matt Menges reached out to Maxcess in the summer of 2017, and the details were finalized relatively quickly.
Bringing Menges' company brand and collective expertise into the Maxcess family is a transition that is similar to Maxcess' acquisition of Valley Roller back in 2015. At the time, Maxcess emphasized that acquisition as a benefit because of Valley Roller's advanced capabilities in rubber-covered rolls.
All of Menges' employees, about 50 total, have agreed to become part of the Maxcess team, Jehlik said. Maxcess is moving forward with a multi-million dollar expansion that will double the size of Menges' plant in Wauconda, a process that was started before the deal was finalized.
The project will provide a division between Menges' two core product lines—rubber roller covering and core/heat transfer roller manufacturing—and will include four 10-ton overhead cranes, providing 40,000 pounds of lifting capacity per bay to service increasing roll sizes, Menges said in a statement.
Just as it has with other acquired companies, Maxcess will maintain the Menges brand for the foreseeable future. The firm said Menges is a "growing and healthy" company that serves customer segments that complements the Valley Roller business and Maxcess' overall portfolio, Jehlik said. Clients come from such industries as textiles, metals, tire and rubber, food processing, packaging, and printing, among others.
"We talked to Menges' customers before (the deal was completed) and it didn't take long to confirm that there were long-term relationships that were extremely strong, and a clear sense of customer loyalty," Jehlik said.
Menges offers advanced capabilities in chill, heat transfer and rubber rollers and will add value to Maxcess' portfolio of web handling solutions, Jehlik said. Matt Menges, and other members of the executive team at Menges will remain an active part of Maxcess, he added.
"Adding our precision roll business to the Maxcess family is an ideal fit," Matt Menges said in a statement. "Maxcess' comprehensive product offering, in combination with our precision rolls, will allow us to add value to our combined customer base as an integrated supplier."
Jehlik said Maxcess has a large portfolio of products and services in web guiding, slitting, tension control, roller bodies and roller coverings. It helps customers maximize productivity through innovative products and in markets in North America and internationally.
"As we have been for a few years now, we are actively looking to grow organically through these acquisitions," Jehlik said. "But the companies we consider are as picky about joining our team as we are of joining them. We want to continue to add capabilities to our suite of products, but the fit and culture (of a company) are very important."
Jehlik sees future opportunities for Maxcess to expand in new industrial technologies such as static disposition, web cleaning and beta gauges.