September 2007
Richards Industries, a privately owned valve manufacturer founded in 1961, was sold September 7, 2007 to a team of executive officers led by president Bruce Broxterman for an undisclosed sum.
Broxterman, 53, said company founder Gilbert Richards searched for a decade for a management deal to avoid selling to a conglomerate.
Richards worried the company would absorb the company's client base but eventually lay off employees and manufacturing representatives then shut down the Cincinnati factory.
The company manufactures hundreds of varieties of industrial valves for food processing, refineries, chemical plants and pharmaceutical factories, Broxterman said.
Broxterman has been employed at the company and risen through management ranks after he accepted an entry-level sales job in 1980.
"I saw an ad in the paper, answered it, and was hired", he said. "Selling the business this way preserves jobs and keep the company in Cincinnati.
The company's new ownership includes chief financial officer Jason Cooper and vice president of customer service Charles Page. The deal was financed by US Bank.
About one-third of the revenues come from projects outside of North America. A new line of valves and revenues have met with success in the "clean" environments of the biotech and pharmaceutical industries. "We have been successful on the international front", Broxterman said. "It's unusual for a company our size to have an overseas presence."
"But we are successfully competing against companies in lower cost labor markets."
Gibert Richards will stay on as an advisor to the management team and will travel to major domestic and international trade shows.
Contact
Kyndle McMurry
Richards Industries
513-533-7345
kmcmurry@richardsind.com
|
