Shawmut Corporation Acquires TPI Industries

WEST BRIDGEWATER, Mass., March 7 -- Shawmut Corporation, the largest independent textile laminator in North America and a leading producer of engineered soft materials for the automotive industry, has acquired the assets of TPI Industries of Middletown, NY and Knoxville, Tenn. TPI Industries is the dominant provider of laminated textiles to the marine, heavy truck, and orthopedic brace industries.

John Bowe, TPI's founder and president, will continue as president and CEO of the newly formed TPI Industries, LLC, a subsidiary of Shawmut. TPI will retain its manufacturing facilities in New York and Tennessee and will continue to operate independently, although the companies expect to realize synergies from the integration of certain administrative and support functions.

"Over the past five years, we have watched John Bowe build TPI into a dominant position in its markets, using TPI's highly efficient operations to deliver an unbeatable combination of price, quality and service to its customers," said James Wyner, CEO of Shawmut. "The combination of Shawmut and TPI brings together two clear leaders in their respective segments to create an organization of unique geographic reach, strength and stability in our industry. We are delighted that John and his organization are now a part of the Shawmut team."

TPI's Bowe sees the combination as a best of both worlds scenario. "TPI will continue to operate independently with the lean structure and customer responsiveness that has been core to our success, but now we will have access to the resources of a much larger company," said Bowe. "Shawmut's extensive capabilities in areas such as Six Sigma, ISO quality systems, supply chain management, information systems and materials testing will allow TPI to deliver world-class support to our customers without the need to add infrastructure or expense. The combination also provides TPI with expanded product lines and a manufacturing plant in Michigan. All of this sets us even further apart from our competition," said Bowe.

The combined operations will have annual revenues approaching $200 million. The companies will operate plants in Port Huron, Mich.; Knoxville, Tenn.; West Bridgewater, Mass. and Middletown, NY with warehousing and distribution in Orlando, Fla.; El Paso, Tex. and Los Angeles.

Shawmut Corporation, headquartered in West Bridgewater, Mass., was founded in 1916. The company is in its 90th year of continuous family ownership.