DIXON – Private equity firm Eigen Capital has acquired local company Plews & Edelman from its British parent, Tomkins plc.
Eigen Capital, based in Palo Alto, Calif., made the announcement Wednesday. The firm specializes in acquisitions of divisions from large companies such as Tomkins, an industrial conglomerate that operates in 30 countries.
The Plews & Edelmann division employs about 200 people at its Dixon plant, 1550 Franklin Grove Road. The plant manufactures and distributes a wide range of products, many in the automotive aftermarket. Included are power steering hose assemblies, brass fittings, lubrication equipment, grease and oils, and air line accessories such as tire gauges.
Plews President Steve Venghaus said in a news release that the acquisition can expedite future growth for the division.
“This is an exciting new chapter that is being written for Plews,” he said. “From the beginning, we felt the team at Eigen ... was the right one to support our plans to aggressively focus on growth and new product development.”
One of the new products is a line of bio-based lubricants manufactured under the UltraLube brand name.
The company dates back to 1909, founded in Chicago that year as E. Edelmann and Company. The business moved to Dixon in 1972. After being acquired by a trio of companies: Parker-Hannifin, Epicor Industries and Stant Corporation, Edelman merged with Plews in 1995. The Plews & Edelman division was acquired by Tomkins in 1997.
In November 2003, Tomkins announced a consolidation that eventually brought 70 jobs to the Dixon plant. A facility in Muskogee, Okla., was phased out, bringing packaging, warehousing and distribution jobs in tire repair and hardware, Amflo brand air accessories, PVC hose manufacturing and rubber hose assembly.
The long history of Plews was part of the allure for Eigen, according to Eigen Capital Partner Christophe Mallard.
“It [Plews] is a very high-quality asset that exhibits both the kind of indisputable market leadership and product expertise that you would expect from a long-established business,” Mallard said in a news release.
Mallard also said his firm was excited about the potential of the new UltraLube product line, citing it as an example of Plews’ “extraordinarily innovative mindset.”