Safety products supplier Justrite Safety Group has taken a big step into plastics manufacturing with the acquisition of Eagle Manufacturing Co.
Justrite Safety of Des Plaines, Ill., recently announced it bought Wellsburg, W.Va.-based Eagle for undisclosed terms.
"It is our intent to continue investing in both operations in Mattoon, Ill., and Wellsburg, W.Va., as we grow organically and through strategic acquisitions," noted Justrite Safety President and CEO Mark McElhinny in a news release.
Eagle, a family-owned business established in 1894, produces safety cans, safety cabinets, plastic drums, material handling products and spill containment goods. It offers more than 1,000 products, all made in the United States. Its recent owners were the Paull and Jacob families in Wellsburg.
Eagle employs about 200 in four large plants and a distribution center in Wellsburg with total area of more than 800,000 square feet. Its capabilities include injection, blow and structural foam injection molding. Its operations include a fabrication center and it is certified to ISO 9001 quality systems.
Eagle's markets include construction, oil and gas, utilities, transportation and medical. It has garnered awards for its export business, manufacturing and community service. It touts its products as "compliance solutions" to help customers meet government regulations for handling and storage of hazardous materials.
Justrite Safety supplies diverse products ranging from plastic safety cabinets and vessels and containers for laboratory and industrial use, to safety showers and large outdoor storage buildings. It employs about 1,100 and runs a European headquarters in Manchester, England, that also sells into the Middle East and Africa. An office in Wuxi, China, serves China and other Asian countries.
"Eagle will bring knowhow, product depth and breadth and needed capacity in both manufacturing and logistics," Justrite Safety said in an email.
"Eagle's advanced manufacturing and skilled craftsmanship will integrate seamlessly into our distribution and engineered solution sales channels."
Justrite Safety has created a new North American business unit, Chemical Safety, that will be headed by Eagle President and CEO Joe Eddy. In addition to his Eagle post and new responsibilities, Eddy has been named an executive vice president for Justrite Safety. He will maintain his office in Wellsburg.
Justrite was founded in 1906, originally as a producer of miners' lamps and safety cans to store kerosene. It is a unit of Justrite Manufacturing Co. of Des Plaines.
"As we integrate the companies, we have the ability to take advantage of multiple synergies — both in products and processes," noted Eddy in a news release.