FRANKFORT — Northern Safety and Industrial, a company based about 10 miles east of Utica that sells safety and industrial supplies, expects to see significant growth due to its pending acquisition by Germany–based Würth Group. The sale of Northern Safety by its CEO and current owner, Salvatore Longo, who founded it in 1983, is […]
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FRANKFORT — Northern Safety and Industrial, a company based about 10 miles east of Utica that sells safety and industrial supplies, expects to see significant growth due to its pending acquisition by Germany–based Würth Group.
The sale of Northern Safety by its CEO and current owner, Salvatore Longo, who founded it in 1983, is the result of a “lengthy and comprehensive process” to find a partner company to invest in it, according to the president of Northern Safety, Neil Sexton.
“[W]e feel that that process has rendered the perfect partner,” Sexton tells CNYBJ. He says the company began the process over a year and a half ago, and that it involved considering more than 200 companies.
The acquisition by Würth Group was set to close at the end of July. Sexton declines to disclose terms of the acquisition, except to say that it involved the purchase of stock.
The Würth Group is privately owned, and comprised of more than 400 companies spread over 80 countries. It posted more than $12 billion in sales in 2014, the company said in a news release. Its primary business is in assembly and fastening materials, and it employs more than 66,000 people.
The Würth Group has a similar growth-oriented culture to Northern Safety, Sexton says. “They have committed significant resources for ongoing acquisitions and increased marketing activities, and the process of seeking synergies across our customer bases has already begun.”
This is the Würth Group’s first foray into safety equipment sales, but it does sell other products to thousands of companies that use safety equipment, says Sexton. “[W]e think there is a great opportunity for cross-pollinating.”
Without disclosing specific figures, Sexton says Northern Safety expects “significant top- and bottom-line growth in the years ahead.”
Northern Safety has two New York state facilities, both in the Herkimer County town of Frankfort. One is its headquarters, situated at 232 Industrial Park Drive, which will not move because of the pending acquisition. Longo will remain the CEO, and the entire management team is staying put, says Sexton.
The company has nearly 500 employees, about half of whom work in New York. No job cuts are planned as a result of the pending ownership change. Northern Safety has an additional 16 locations across eight other states: five in Texas, three in Tennessee, two each in Oklahoma and Louisiana, and one each in Delaware, Missouri, South Carolina, and Georgia.
The acquisition of Northern Safety is the first step of what the Würth Group says is its entrance into the safety market.
“Northern Safety has been one of the largest privately owned companies in this market for a long time,” Marc Strandquist, executive vice president of the Würth Group, said in the news release. “The Würth Group has a long-standing strategy of enhancing our product offering. The acquisition of Northern Safety supports that strategy. Their core competency of personal protective equipment and safety supplies is a great complement to our current offerings.”
Northern Safety will be the safety and industrial distribution platform for North American–based safety and industrial companies acquired by the Würth Group, according to Sexton. He would not specify if that means Northern Safety will be used as a model for the operations of safety supply companies acquired by the Würth Group in the future, or if Northern Safety will have a greater, hands-on role with those companies.
“We have a large long-term investment with the Würth Group, and they’ve committed substantial resources to grow this company,” Longo said in the release.
Representatives of the Würth Group could not be reached for further comment on the acquisition as of press time.
