Windsor, Ontario-based Concours Technologies Inc. has acquired Active Industrial Solutions Inc. (AIS), which is also based in Windsor and has a related mold repair and maintenance facility in Tennessee.
Founded in 1994, Concours is a wholly owned subsidiary of Southfield, Mich.-based SyBridge Technologies, which was established in 2019 with $200 million from the private equity firm Crestview Partners to form a market leader, particularly for tooling for the lighting, fascia and grille segment.
Concours acquired AIS from Parkview Capital Partners, which owned it since 1997.
The combination of Concours and AIS creates one of the largest tooling and mold making companies in North America, according to a news release about deal. In addition to its Windsor headquarters, where Concours houses engineering and services, the company website shows facilities in Lakeshore, Ontario; Cullman, Ala.; and Puebla, Mexico.
Both companies will benefit from economy of scale, and Concours adds complex precision tooling capabilities, especially for lighting applications.
SyBridge Technologies CEO Tony Nardone sees opportunity in the mobility end markets for automobiles, motorcycles, off-road recreation vehicles and more.
"We engineer, manufacture and service plastic injection molds for both exterior and interior end products and we aim to be the market leader in lighting fascia and in the grille segment of the mobility tooling market," Nardone said in an email.
Terms were not disclosed.
Founded in 1977, AIS designs, manufactures and services complex plastic injection molds and lighting reflex components for the mobility industry. The company expanded from mold making into tooling through lean manufacturing practices and continuous investments in new technologies, according to Concours President Andy Aiton.
"AIS has been a strong player with an excellent reputation in quality and operations. Taking the best from both companies, we will create a transformative company to better meet customer needs in today's global tooling industry," Aiton said in a news release. "The combined company will have a strong footprint across Canada, U.S., Mexico and Asia. This is a major step in our effort to build unmatched ability to take on large global tooling programs in the future."
Asia is an important part of SyBridge's growth strategy, according to Nardone.
"Diverse global capabilities is one of our key value propositions," he said in the email. "We have a local presence in China and India today, and we are looking to continue to build strategic relationships with high-quality toolmakers and tool design houses throughout Asia. We believe these relationships will enhance our in-house capabilities."
The AIS acquisition includes a dedicated service facility in Winchester, Tenn., that operated as Active Industrial Solutions Tennessee Inc. and serves molding customers in the area, including Tier 1 suppliers to Volkswagen AG's Chattanooga plant.
"[This] gives us a total of four customer service centers in North America. As we look to the future, service and technology are key drivers of our growth strategy," Nardone said.
Concours and SyBridge Technologies have been actively acquiring tooling firms. The most recent previous deal was the November purchase of Fairview, Pa.-based X-Cell Tool and Mold Inc.
Combining Concours and X-Cell would put the company's 2019 sales at $112.1 million, according to Plastics News data. AIS will add another $75 million, bringing the pro forma 2019 total for Concours to about $187.1 million, according to PN estimates.