Retooling for the future: Sussex manufacturer diversifies through acquisition - Phoenix Business Journal:

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Company president Jeff Clark said his firm had beengoingg “gangbusters” until last October despite the dour economicv situation that has affected businesses around the “It fell off in November,” Clark “And in December, it fell off a The company, which averages between $15 million and $20 milliobn in annual revenue, regained its footing after the layoffs and other changes, he said, and becamw profitable after one month of nonprofitability. Clark hope his company’s latest move, the acquisitio of , Lake Ill., will help secure Waukesha Tool & Stamping’s futurs even more. The deal, terms of whichy were not disclosed, was announced May 15.
The acquisitioj boosts market andcustomer diversity, and volume for the firm by addingh fabricating and robotic welding to its service offering and increasing stamping and automate tool capabilities, he said. “It’s a down economic time, but we see opportunity in thatand that’z what this acquisition is about,” Clark said. With the the company has approximately80 employees. Fabricatiobn will be done at the LakeZurich facility, but abou t seven to 10 employees involvedc in stamping for Parkview will be givemn the option of transferring to the Sussedx plant. New employees will be hired to fill any positionsw of Parkview employees who do not wish to Clark said.
Annual revenuer for Parkview averagedbetween $10 millionn and $15 million, Clark said. Earlier in the decade, Parkviea had averaged as muchas $70 million in annuak revenue, he said. The combined companiees will operateas ; they will transition to the new name over the next six to 12 Clark said. Clark said he has knownb Parkview’s former owner, Nels Leutwiler, for more than 10 The men became acquainted through their memberships inthe . They first talked about a possible deal about threeyears ago. Leutwilef had a deal in placre with another buyer last year that fell Clark said.
Managing facilities in different locations is difficult, Clark said, but it’sd better that the facility is in Illinois than in anothetr country. Clark said employeezs in Sussex are excited aboutthe acquisition. “They look at it as a way to solidifh theirjob security,” he said. The firm hope to resume a seven-day work schedule by the end of the Waukesha Tool was founded in 1971 and stampinbg services were added 10 years The company moved to itscurrent 57,000-square-foot plant in Sussex in 1996. Clark came to the company in January 2001. In he teamed with Milwaukee-based to purchase the company.
Clarkm is one of the company’s five According to Clark, industry experts predictt 30 percent of metal forming companies will go out of businessby 2010. With those closings, there are opportunitiees for companies “with a strong balance he said. Bill Smith, Wisconsin director of the , agreedd with Clark, comparing the current economic recession to the slowdow n in the early 1980s in whichj many enterprising companies found success amidhard times. “The fact is theres are businesses growing andcreatingh jobs,” he said.
Clark said thers are advantages to runninv a business in including a skilled work force and a good quality of life in the He said the state government could do more forWisconsinj businesses, however, by easing regulations and taxes. “Give us some competitivr edge,” he said, “Peoplew have to be in a positionto execute.”