Gibraltar Acquires Hi-Temp Incorporated
6 August 1999
Gibraltar Acquires Hi-Temp Incorporated
Company Operates Four Commercial Heat-Treating Facilities in Illinois and
Indiana; With Acquisition, Gibraltar's Annual Heat-Treating Revenues Will
Approximate $65 Million
BUFFALO, N.Y., Aug. 5 -- Gibraltar today
announced that it has acquired Hi-Temp Incorporated, a Northlake, Illinois-
based, privately held commercial heat-treating company. Terms of the
acquisition were not disclosed.
Hi-Temp, which was founded in 1953, had 1998 sales of approximately
$23 million. It operates four facilities, totaling approximately 239,000
square feet, in Northlake, Illinois (three plants) and Greensburg, Indiana.
The company has approximately 200 employees and is one of the leading
commercial heat treaters in the Midwest.
The company provides heat treating, brazing, plating, and related metal-
processing services to customers in a wide range of industries, including
automotive, homebuilding and construction, appliance, and farm equipment. All
four of its facilities are registered to QS 9000 and ISO 9002 standards.
"Hi-Temp has an established record of profitability and growth, and a
proven and experienced management team. Its addition to our growing family of
companies substantially expands our heat-treating business, while continuing
to move us into higher-margin, higher value-added activities. Like all of our
acquisitions, we anticipate that it will immediately enhance our earnings per
share," said Brian J. Lipke, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.
This is Gibraltar's fifth acquisition in the commercial heat-treating
business. In February 1996, it acquired Carolina Commercial Heat Treating
(CCHT), the nation's fifth-largest commercial heat treater and the largest in
the Southeast. It acquired a facility in Athens, Alabama, in May 1997 that is
now part of CCHT. In October 1998, it acquired Harbor Metal Treating Company,
which operates facilities in Benton Harbor, Michigan; Rockford, Illinois (two
locations); and South Bend, Indiana. In April 1999, it acquired a facility in
Arden, North Carolina, which is also part of CCHT.
"Our previously announced goal is to have annual heat-treating revenues of
$100 million or more by 2003 or sooner, and we are now approximately two-
thirds of the way there and clearly ahead of schedule. This acquisition
firmly establishes Gibraltar as one of the nation's leading commercial heat
treaters," said Mr. Lipke.
"We see numerous opportunities to steadily grow this part of our business.
We will continue to expand the sales and earnings of our existing companies
and facilities. And as the industry continues to consolidate (there are
approximately 900 commercial heat treaters in the United States), there are
many additional acquisition opportunities," said Mr. Lipke.
"We are pleased that Art Lukowicz, Hi-Temp's Chairman, and Jim Carlson,
their President, and their entire management team have agreed to stay with the
company and work with us to accelerate its growth. We look forward to building
on their record of success.
"This was our third acquisition in 1999, and our eleventh in the last four
years. While our acquisition pipeline has never been fuller, we will continue
to be very selective and only acquire those companies that meet our strict
criteria and have established records of profitability and growth," said Mr.
Lipke.
Information contained in this release, other than historical information,
should be considered forward-looking, and may be subject to a number of risk
factors, including: the impact of changing steel prices on the Company's
results of operations; changing demand for the Company's products; the impact
of the Year 2000 issue; and changes in interest or tax rates.
Gibraltar is a growth-oriented company, with expanding operations in the
building and construction products, metal processing, and commercial heat-
treating markets. The Company serves approximately 9,000 customers in a
variety of industries. It has approximately 3,000 employees and operates
48 facilities in 19 states and Mexico.