Erico Fasteners to Join Hoffman Enclosures as Part of Pentair

Sept. 2, 2015
Century-old fastener manufacturer Erico Global Co., Solon, Ohio, has agreed to be acquired by U.K. industrial specialist Pentair plc, Manchester, U.K. Erico joins well-known brands including Hoffman and Schroff enclosures and Raychem heat tracing equipment as part of Pentair Technical Solutions.

Century-old fastener manufacturer Erico Global Co., Solon, Ohio, has agreed to be acquired by U.K. industrial specialist Pentair plc, Manchester, U.K., for $1.8 billion in cash, including repayment of Erico debt. Erico joins well-known brands including Hoffman and Schroff enclosures and Raychem heat tracing equipment as part of Pentair Technical Solutions.

In an investor call on the acquisition, Pentair Chairman and CEO Randy Hogan said Erico has annual revenue of almost $600 million and is very profitable with strong cash flows. “Erico will expand Technical Solutions’ presence into the faster-growing commercial space, as well as the industrial space,” Hogan told investors. “Erico’s broad product portfolio also strengthens Technical Solutions’ focus on physical protection for critical applications by electrical customers. The complementary nature of the products, geographies, distribution channels and sectors served helps ensure that there should be minimal disruption to customers and whatever changes there are, we expect that synergies will come mainly through the application of lean and back office standardization.”

Erico has 1,200 employees in 30 countries with recognized brands including Caddy Fasteners among a range of fixing, fastening and support products, Erico and Cadweld electrical grounding, bonding and connectivity products and Lenton engineered systems.

Martin Electrical Sales, Kirkwood, Mo., has been representing both Erico and Hoffman for decades, taking on the Hoffman line in 1958 and Erico in 1965. Nancy Martin, the agency’s president, said they’re both part of the family and although there hasn’t been a lot of information coming yet from the companies, she expects the synergies to be valuable.

“It gives the Pentair name more visibility for the commercial construction market than they’ve had with just Hoffman,” Martin said. “Erico has been strong in my market, with good brand preference across the board, especially with Caddy and Cadweld. Contractors love them. Caddy is an innovative company with lots of new products all the time, so it’s fun to represent them. There’s always something to leave on the customer’s desk and that helps us in the field. They also have good sales leadership that’s continued to help them grow. They’ve done a very good job marketing.”