NN Ball & Roller Inc. has entered plastics molding by acquiring Industrial Molding Corp. of Lubbock, Texas.
NN Ball of Erwin, Tenn., produces precision steel balls and rollers for a range of machinery. IMC is a good fit because about a third of its business is molding plastic retainers for precision bearings, said Roderick Baty, NN Ball president and chief executive officer. Also attractive are IMC's profitability and new market opportunities for NN Ball, he said.
IMC does custom and captive molding for bearing, automotive, electronic, leisure and consumer markets. It had sales of $28.1 million last year.
A sister company, Gary Products Group of Lubbock, a producer of lighting hardware, was not included in the sale.
Jim and Steve Earsley sold IMC because they respect NN Ball's business philosophy and believe the new owner will continue to run their former company well, Jim Earsley said in a telephone interview. Earsley, former IMC chairman, will continue with the operation in a consulting and project-manager role.
NN Ball and Gary Products are IMC customers, said Will Kelly, NN Ball treasurer. NN Ball had sales of $73 million last year and trades on Nasdaq.
NN Ball paid $23.5 million in cash and 440,038 common shares for IMC and its two plants in Lubbock. Total value of the transaction was estimated at $26 million, the firms announced July 6.