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Gibraltar Acquires Florence Corporation

09/05/2007 - Gibraltar Industries acquires Florence Corp., a leading manufacturer of engineered storage solutions, including centralized mail and package delivery products.

Gibraltar Industries, Inc. has acquired Florence Corp., a leading manufacturer of engineered storage solutions, including centralized mail and package delivery products. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.
 
Florence designs and manufactures a complete line of products and systems for storage and distribution, including specialty products for commercial customers such as distributors, catalog houses, national retail chains, and wholesalers. Following completion of the acquisition, Florence’s current management team will continue to run its day-to-day operations.
 
“One aspect of our growth strategy is to build leadership positions in niche markets, and Florence is the recognized leader in all of its product categories and positions us as a leading products supplier, particularly in specialized markets. Florence serves the residential, commercial, storage, and building-products markets, which have been growing at a rate greater than GDP growth. We expect this transaction will be immediately accretive to earnings, before any synergies,” said Brian J. Lipke, Gibraltar’s Chairman and CEO.
 
Gibraltar first entered the storage products market with its 1998 acquisition of The Solar Group. In 2006, it expanded its market share with the acquisitions of Home Impressions and Steel City. Gibraltar currently sells its storage products throughout North America, Germany, China, and Japan, and believes it is a leading supplier in the markets it serves.
 
“We continue to take steps to enhance Gibraltar’s performance characteristics, and the addition of Florence to our portfolio of companies will strengthen our ability to deliver stronger and more consistent results,” said Henning N. Kornbrekke, Gibraltar’s President and Chief Operating Officer. “Florence has invested in the infrastructure to support continued growth, it is a leader in product design and development, and it also has a comprehensive program to consistently improve its operational efficiency and drive down costs.”
 
Gibraltar’s financing was provided by a consortium of banks led by KeyBank, and Florence was represented in the transaction by BMO Capital Markets.
 
Gibraltar Industries is a leading manufacturer, processor, and distributor of products for the building, industrial, and vehicular markets. The company serves customers in a variety of industries in all 50 states and throughout the world. It has approximately 4000 employees and operates 84 facilities in 27 state plus Canada, China, England, Germany, and Poland.
 
Florence Corp. employs approximately 450 people at its 192,000-square-foot manufacturing, distribution, and administrative facility in Manhattan, Kansas. It had 2006 sales of approximately $80 million.