Graham Engineering, a York-based equipment maker, has purchased a Berks County company with a complementary business.
- Graham Engineering makes machinery used in producing — or extruding — plastic parts ranging from car bumpers to catheters.
- Its new acquisition, Birdsboro-based Kennedy Tool & Die, specializes in making molds and tooling used in plastics-manufacturing processes called blow molding, rim molding and thermoforming.
- “There are good mold and tooling suppliers and good extrusion machinery companies. But, we believe few effectively bridge the process expertise between extrusion and mold design to create high-quality finished products,” David Schroeder, president and CEO of Graham Engineering said in a statement. “This transaction represents GEC’s commitment to anticipate and meet customers’ changing needs, giving customers the ‘one-stop shop’ and partner to ensure performance over the life of their equipment.”
- Terms of the deal were not disclosed. A spokesperson for Graham declined to comment beyond the press release.
What’s next: Kennedy Tool & Die will operate as a brand under the Graham Engineering label.
- Kennedy co-owners Steve Kennedy and Scott Kroll will take on roles as operations director and business development director, respectively.
The background: York County entrepreneur Don Graham founded Graham Engineering in 1960. Four years later, he invented a new way to extrude plastic.
- The company has made other acquisitions over the years.
- In 2012, Graham Engineering bought a company called American Kuhne, followed three years later by the acquisition of Welex.
- The two companies pioneered different ways of making plastic parts and continue to operate under their existing names.
