An Orange-based maker of rubber products is buying a Mississippi plant in a move it says will turn the company into the biggest sheet rubber maker in North America.
West American Rubber Co., which makes rubber sheets and parts, is acquiring Ripley, Miss.-based Biltrite Corp.’s sheet rubber and matting business.
Terms of the deal weren’t disclosed.
West American is set to take over production of rubber sheets and mats at Biltrite’s 400,000-square-foot plant in Ripley, near the Tennessee state line.
The company makes large rolls of sheet rubber that customers cut into gaskets for cars and planes.
West American makes rubber at its Orange plant. The company’s rubber comes in a variety of colors and uses high-tech materials, such as silicone and neoprene.
It also makes custom rubber parts, such as seals for auto windows, seats for swing sets and gas masks for the Army.
The acquisition, struck in late October and set to close by month’s end, broadens West American’s markets.
The Biltrite factory makes textured rubber floor mats used in hospitals, stadiums and on factory floors.
West American President James deLeo is set to oversee the company’s expanded sheet rubber operations.
Larry Babcock, director of manufacturing at West American, is set to run a newly created subsidiary, including the Biltrite operation, as executive vice president.
Babcock’s been with the company for 11 years.
Two Biltrite executives are set to join West American’s board.
West American has about 300 workers at its 150,000-square-foot headquarters and plant in Orange. Biltrite’s Ripley plant has 150 workers.
Privately held West American doesn’t disclose revenue.
The company plans to add 50 manufacturing workers here and in Mississippi, West American spokeswoman Flor Vasquez said.
“We project total employment for both companies to be approximately 500 by the end of 2007,” Vasquez said. “We want to increase business and increase job opportunities.”
Big competitors for West American are Garlock Rubber Technologies, part of Missouri’s EnPro Industries Ltd., and Canada’s American Biltrite Ltd. (no relation to Biltrite Corp.).
West American goes after several markets. The company supplies to the military, transportation, construction and food processing industries, among others.
No customer represents more than 5% of sales, Vasquez said.
The company’s sheet division makes up about half of sales. Its other two custom parts divisions make up the rest.
With the acquisition, West American hopes to boost sales by 40% in the next three years, Vasquez said.
Founded in 1910, West American was started to supply rubber to the petroleum industry. The company bills itself as California’s first rubber company.
West American employs engineers and a test lab in Orange, where it develops specialized rubber that can resist extreme temperatures, acids and rocket fuel.
