AUBURN, WASH. -- Industrial thermoformer Accel Plastics Inc. has formed a new division to handle prisoner restraint seating and related product lines it acquired from Aedec International of Beaverton, Ore.

Accel acquired thermoformed Pro-Straint police car seating and Pro-Straint prisoner restraint chairs, and rotational-molded sports utility vehicle seating operations from Aedec owner, Dan Corcoran, who has retired. The deal became effective Jan. 2 and terms were not disclosed.

Accel is moving all seating production to its Auburn, Wash., plant. It recently upgraded the equipment and production flow in the 30,000-square-foot facility to handle the extra work from the seating business, Accel general manager John Crawford said in a telephone interview.

"We will be able to leverage strength from our vehicle component thermoforming experience into the seating operations," Crawford explained. "It will be a good complement with our existing business."

Accel's thermoforming sales of about $8 million per year are concentrated in heavy truck, electronics and aerospace. It runs eight thermoforming stations making parts as big as six feet by nine feet. Part of the upgrade was the installation late last year of two new Maac thermoformers at a cost of nearly $300,000. The plant's equipment includes seven CNC five-axis trimmers.

The acquired seating business had sales of about $1 million last year but Crawford expects to double that in 2013. The thermoformed seats are made of thermoplastic polyolefin, a tough sheet that is easy to clean. Pro-Straint is a trademarked system of seatbelt restraints useful in handling prisoners in law enforcement situations. Accel will continue to contract out the rotomolded seat components production and various injection molded parts rather than try to diversify by bringing them in-house.

Accel is a family-owned business established more than 20 years ago. It employs about 50. It had been providing thermoforming services to Aedec prior to the acquisition.