PALMYRA, N.Y.—Jrlon Inc. knew one day it would have to break into the world of rubber manufacturing. That time is now.
The Palmyra-based custom manufacturer of specialty metal and high-performance plastic products has acquired RotaDyne Corp.'s Engineered Products Division for an undisclosed amount.
The division, based in Spencerport, N.Y., will bring a range of complementary manufacturing services to Jrlon. The unit consists of 33 employees and produces compression molded elastomers, small rubber rollers and offers precision CNC machining.
Jrlon started as a high-performance plastics processor, mainly fluoropolymer materials, and has added other plastic materials to its portfolio. Now half of its business is within the metal worlds. Its capabilities include compression and injection molding, CNC machining, powder coating and assembly.
Brandon Redmond, co-owner and chief operating officer of Jrlon, said bringing rubber under its roof was the next logical step.
"We've steered clear of rubber in the past mostly because we just didn't have the expertise on hand in the elastomer world," he said. "We had already expanded into other materials, but at this point it's logically the next step to take. We've already gotten heavily into the metals and other plastics, so rubber at some point was likely to follow.
"Any time you're able to offer your customers a more diverse range of processes or products, you're a more valuable supplier. One of the things we've always been able to sell to our customers is, because we have so many different processes under one roof, we've had customers be able to eliminate multiple other vendors by adding us as a vendor."
Redmond said RotaDyne had been a customer of Jrlon's for more than 20 years, so there was a familiarity between the two operations. So much so that when the Spencerport site got word that RotaDyne had put it up for sale, Redmond said the facility leadership reached out to Jrlon.
He said it didn't take long for both parties to see the deal as a good fit.
"We view this as an opportunity to supply them the support to really fulfill the potential that they had," he said. "We view this as a location that's going to expand and grow. I anticipate over the next several years adding multiple jobs to that facility as we fill capacity."
Jrlon operates out of a 100,000-sq.-ft. site in Palmyra with 90 employees. The facility consists of 85 CNC machines, 12 compression molding presses (two fully automatic) and five injection molding machines.
Redmond said there is virtually no overlap between the two firms, providing the combined company with great cross-selling opportunities.
The Engineered Products Division's lone facility in Spencerport spans 35,000 square feet. All employees and assets will transfer to Jrlon, and the deal includes both the building and surrounding land for potential future expansion.
"We view them as very complementary," Redmond said. "Basically all we compress is plastics. These guys have a compression molding division within the facility that compression molds elastomers and different rubbers. It broadens our compression molding capability into the elastomer world."
The division brings an expanded presence within Jrlon's sizable CNC business and elastomer molding using a wide range of elastomer compounds, including some silicone and urethanes. Rubber molding, including its rollers business, consists of about 30 percent of the division's sales, with 60 percent coming from its precision machining operations. The remaining 10 percent is from its assembly offerings.
The two also operate in different markets, giving the combined customer base many opportunities. Redmond said Jrlon operates in the chemical processing, food processing, aerospace and pharmaceutical industries, among others, while the former RotaDyne division's main areas are photonics, medical devices and commercial printing.
"We see this as a deal with massive upside in terms of being able to cross-sell our current customer base," Redmond said. "It's significantly easier to grow a business within current customers as opposed to breaking into new customers. Getting your foot in the door initially is often times the most challenging part of sales."