CHICAGO (July 17, 9:40 a.m. EDT) — An Internet trading firm, AmericanManufacturers.com, has acquired two manufacturing companies that formerly employed the company's founders.
Late last month, the dot-com company purchased Flite Technology Inc., a supplier of precision-fed screws and barrels.
AmericanManufacturers also plans to acquire the assets of Anderson American Precision Inc., a provider of instrumentation, testing and wear measure devices, said AmericanManufacturers Vice President Kevin Krause.
Company President and Chief Executive Officer Ron Anderson and Marc Timm, and chief technology officer, previously worked for Flite. Timm also is a former Anderson American executive.
Both Anderson and Timm helped engineer a turnaround at Flite. The company had entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 1998 before a change in service and processes helped the company re-emerge from its financial problems, Timm said.
The two executives and Krause founded AmericanManufacturers in May 1999 after leaving their respective companies. The Web site provides electronic-commerce product exchanges for 34 industries.
The company offers a database of 34,000 plastics companies (from a total database of 400,000 companies) and provides tools for sellers to prepare electronic requests for quotes and identify buyers from a targeted list, Krause said.
Suppliers then place bids over its site for a wide array of products.
The acquisitions, unusual for a Web trading company, provide AmericanManufacturers with a better manufacturing base and a network of sources for its Web site's growth, Krause said. They also provide a revenue stream for the Web portal to support its start-up, he added.
"They allow us to pull a profit to run our business," Krause said. "We've proven to be fiscally responsible with these companies and grow their base. We'll continue to do that."
Flite expects to record sales of close to $4 million this year, Krause said. Both Flite and AmericanManufacturers are based in Cocoa, Fla.
American, based in Rockledge, Fla., will record about $1 million in sales this year, he added.
The Web exchange company plans to expand Flite and Anderson by providing an electronic avenue to reach potential buyers globally, Timm said. The Web portal reaches customers in South Korea, Europe and China, among other places. Its target market is manufacturers with annual sales of $50 million or less, Krause said.
Flite also will benefit from a new Web site launched by AmericanManufacturers, www.feedscrews.com. The portal targets product exchanges associated with feed screws, barrels, tips and nozzles. Flite will use the exchange both as a buyer and seller, Krause said.
The company's primary Web site is found at www.AmericanManufacturers.com.