Injection molders Tulip, Richardson merge

Injection molders Richardson Molding LLC and Tulip Molded Plastics Corp. have merged to form Tulip Richardson Manufacturing LLC.

The merger was announced March 25. Terms were not disclosed.

The newly formed organization is majority owned by private equity firms Owner Resource Group LLC and Shelton, Conn.-based Saugatuck Capital Co. Owner Resource Group of Austin, Texas, bought Richardson in 2017. Saugatuck Capital acquired Tulip in 2012.

Going forward, TRM will be led by Tulip's Craig Kellogg as CEO and Richardson's Steve Dyer as president and chief operating officer.

"These two companies, which formerly were competitors, share a lot of the same customer base, a lot of the same products, but the difference being Richardson was much more heavily concentrated with industrial business whereas Tulip was more concentrated with automotive," Kellogg said in a March 27 phone interview with Plastics News.

Both companies participate broadly in the lead-acid battery industry, he said.

"We're extremely excited about this opportunity," Dyer said during the call. "We've known each other in the market for many, many years. … I think there was some mutual admiration because we were competitors and we knew how good the other team was."

Tulip molds polypropylene battery components as well as containers, covers, vents, handles and other parts for diverse industries such as automotive, commercial, defense, appliances and sporting goods. The company does custom molding and insert molding, and produces its own engineered resins. It also has a cold form division for manufacturing lead products, including ammunition, wire and battery terminals.

Nearly 100 percent of lead-acid batteries are recycled in the United States. Tulip uses recycled battery plastic chips and the recycled lead to produce battery terminals, Kellogg said.

Richardson primarily makes injection molded thermoplastic parts such as jars and covers for the lead-acid battery market.

"The companies are very similar, and they fit well in the same space," Kellogg said.

The combined operation brings TRM's manufacturing platform to four facilities in Columbus, Ind., which has been the headquarters for Richardson; Philadelphia, Miss.; Niagara Falls, N.Y.; and Milwaukee, with more than 135 injection molding machines ranging from 10-1,100 tons. Richardson's engineering center in Indianapolis will also remain in operation.

Milwaukee, the former headquarters for Tulip, will be the headquarters for the combined company. The total employee headcount falls between 500-600, Kellogg said.

"Combined with material synergies, customer synergies, two great teams coming together, we should be a lot quicker to market and be more efficient at what we want to do to be a better supplier to all of our customers," he said. "We want to be a supplier of choice."

The company is in the process of executing a 100-day plan to better understand all aspects across the different facilities, including tools, equipment and customers. Leadership will also develop a future plan for the business during this transition.

No major changes to the business are anticipated, Kellogg said.

"Market changes may dictate changes up or down, but the merger itself will not," he added. "In fact, with the merger, we are going to focus on aggressive growth in the marketplace both in the lead-acid battery arena, where we have a large portion of our sales, and exterior to the lead-acid industry."

In terms of the lead-acid battery industry, the automotive SLI (starting, lighting, ignition) battery business is growing at an annual rate of more than 2 percent, Kellogg said. The industrial side is projected to grow at a rate of 6-10 percent going forward.

Dyer said the two companies also share the same core beliefs and values, which enhances cooperation across the combined organization.

"One of our tenets is the relentless pursuit of continuous improvement in all aspects of our business," Dyer said. "Having this new team together with the synergy that we're uncovering and just the chemistry in the room in the first few days of this new relationship is exciting — new energy, new opportunities."