A senior manager of National Metal Finishings Corp., a manufacturer of sheet extruder chill rollers, has led a buyout of the Middlesex company.
Lou Fahsbender and a silent partner bought National Metal from the estate of Joseph Conrad, who founded the company in 1971. Conrad died in January 2004, Fahsbender said in a telephone interview. Fahsbender has been with National Metal since 1999. Now president of the firm, he was vice president and chief operating officer before the acquisition.
National Metal does grinding and polishing at its head office facility and plating in Bound Brook, N.J. Fahsbender said the company intends to keep both operations open.
It also plans to open a plant in the Youngstown, Ohio, area to expand its customer base among manufacturers of sheet extrusion equipment, Fahsbender said. The project might take two years, he estimated.
National Metal offers roll grinding, hard surfacing with 420 stainless steel and hard plating with chromium. As well as supplying rolls to original equipment manufacturers, the company does substantial business refinishing rolls for sheet extruders.
