Salt Lake City-based Plastic Services and Products LLC purchased the assets of Genova Products Inc. through a bidding and court-appointed receiver process that includes all the real estate, equipment, tooling and intellectual property of the acquired company.
The owners of Davison, Mich.-based Genova, which will be branded as Genova USA, reportedly were in financial trouble and looked last year to sell the company or find a cash infusion.
With the purchase, PSP, which makes plastic pipe, fittings and vinyl fencing, can widen its manufacturing and distribution footprint and its product line. Genova is a manufacturer of PVC pipe, gutter, decking and railing.
In business for 58 years, Genova played an important role for many customers and communities, according to PSP officials, who said they will continue the legacy of founder Robert F. Williams and his son, Robert M. Williams.
PSP plans to adopt Genova's tagline, "Your Plumbing Connection," PSP President Andrew Reese said in an email to Plastics News.
"We are committed to making a full range of pipe and fittings in the USA. This is major step in our strategic goal to manufacture and distribute our products nationwide," Reese said. "It will enable customers to purchase a unique and expansive range of products from one source."
PSP Vice President John Johansen said: "We are excited to add Genova's fence, deck, gutter and downspout production capabilities. They are a great complement to our existing fence and rail products."
Genova had laid off workers or shut down facilities in Fort Wayne and Rensselaer, Ind.; Paducah, Ky.; and Faribault, Minn.; in November, December and January, according to published reports. Genova's Sparks, Nev., plant was closed and sold in 2019 prior to the bankruptcy.
PSP officials said May 15 that they plan to begin production in Faribault, Paducah, and Rensselaer next week. The company also will maintain Genova's former office in Davison and distribution center in Fort Wayne. These facilities will be added to the existing network of PSP plants in Centralia, Wash., and Salt Lake City and Sandy, Utah.
Paducah officials said they are pleased PSP will hire 80 employees to restart production and then add 125 employees in the coming months.
"We have been diligently working alongside Plastic Services and Products since December while they acquired the Genova assets. We are thrilled for what this acquisition means to our community and the employees who were displaced last fall. These jobs are a tremendous blessing, especially considering all of the layoffs and furloughs in the midst of this COVID-19 pandemic," Bruce Wilcox, president of the Greater Paducah Economic Development, told the local media.
Founded in 1962, Genova manufactured PVC plumbing systems, then expanded into gutters, fencing, railing and deck flooring, according to its website. The company's product lines include whole-house plumbing pipe and fittings from the well or water line to the sewer or septic system.
Genova got started by buying pipe from extruders and creating kits to sell to cottage owners for do-it-yourself projects in northern Michigan.
PSP extrudes PVC cellular core pipe and ABS solid wall and cellular core pipe for sanitary drain, waste and vent uses for wholesale and retail customers in the United States and Canada.
The acquirer also sells ABS, iron and brass fittings; PVC and metal pipe nipples; PVC picket, privacy and ranch fencing; and equestrian jump poles and gates.
PSP opened its vinyl fence division in 2012 with equipment purchased from Utah-based vinyl fence manufacturer Peak Profile.
PSP was purchased from PMC Global in 2008.