Updated: Budzar Industries Inc., a Willoughby, Ohio-based maker of heaters, chillers and temperature control equipment, has been sold to Multistack LLC.
Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Multistack, based in Sparta, Wis., makes chillers, heat pumps and other industrial HVAC systems. The company employs more than 170 at its 245,000-square-foot facility.
In an Aug. 21 news release, Multistack said it will operate Budzar as a wholly owned subsidiary. Both companies will maintain separate headquarters in addition to engineering and manufacturing facilities. No changes to leadership at either of the two companies will be made.
All 110 employees at Budzar will be kept as well as about 25 employees at its operations in Shanghai. David Young will stay on as Budzar's president.
“We are actively looking to grow the company,” Charles Kenyon, president and CEO of Multistack, said in a phone interview. “We primarily are looking for other companies within our industry that have niche products, that have strong leadership, strong engineering, and a commitment to their customers and their employees, and Budzar fit the bill on all of those.”
Budzar officials declined to comment.
“The primary focus of our purchase is to try and help Budzar continue to be a great company and become an even better company. … The beauty of it is that Budzar has been a very strong company for years,” Kenyon said. “They've got a great engineering group, sales group and their factory personnel are top-notch, so there's not a lot that needs to be changed.”
Budzar, founded in 1975, has had a longstanding relationship with Taiwanese auxiliary equipment maker Shini Plastics Technology Inc., which opened its first U.S.-based facility in Suwanee, Ga., in 2014. The U.S. operation is Shini Plastics Technology LLC.
Kenyon said Budzar's relationship with Shini will be maintained and will “remain as it is.”
Budzar began the exclusive U.S. sales of Shini auxiliary equipment in 2004, a year after Budzar President David Young met the company during the 2003 NPE show. Shini's product line includes granulators, gravimetric blenders, conveying equipment, chillers and mold temperature controllers. The products are sold under the Shini USA division of Budzar.
“We do not do a lot of business overseas,” Kenyon said. “I'm sure there are some things we can learn from Budzar that may help us break into those markets as well.”
Multistack is privately owned and has been part of the HVAC business since 1989. In 2002, Kenyon and a group of private investors led a management buyout of the company, according to Multistack's website.
In 2017, Multistack acquired two other businesses: Germantown, Wis.-based HVAC systems maker Desert Aire and Wood Dale, Ill.-based Standard Refrigeration LLC.
“As a whole, our companies now can do a better job of growth and trying to expand markets,” Kenyon said. “We'll leverage each other's strengths and see where that leads us.”