New company will strengthen Art’s Way’s Growing vessels subsidiary.
Art’s Way Manufacturing Co. Inc., (NASDAQ:ARTW) a leading manufacturer and distributor of farm machinery in the United States and internationally, announces it has signed a formal Letter of Intent (LOI) to acquire Imperial Steel Tank Company. Based in Frankfort, Illinois, near Chicago, Imperial Steel Tank Company is a leader in the fabrication of American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) pressure vessels. They make a variety of pressure vessels, storage tanks, heat exchangers, hazardous chemical tanks, half pipe jackets, manways including both bolted-style and quick-open, and provide custom designed vessels. Imperial’s ASME pressure vessel designs have successfully solved complex process containment problems in the chemical and petrochemical industries, the food processing industry, pharmaceutical industry, and water and waste treatment sector.
J. Ward McConnell Jr., Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors said, "With Art’s Way Vessels becoming more production efficient, improving cost controls, growing revenue and margins these past quarters under the co-leadership of Larry Cornell, Production Manager and Pat O’Neil, Sales Manager, we are very excited about this excellent opportunity to acquire a highly respected and successful vessels business to complement Art’s Way Vessels.
“Imperial Steel Tank Company is an established manufacturer with an outstanding customer service reputation who has been in business since 1952 and has built a solid revenue base of approximately $2.5 million per year. We will move all production to Art’s Way Vessels in Dubuque, Iowa, but will continue an office in Illinois for engineering, estimating and other services. We are in the process of doing final due diligence and expect to close in early July 2011. We anticipate this new business will be fully accretive and will help us grow our vessels business on a greater scale and further develop the Art’s Way brand both nationally and internationally.”
About Art’s Way Manufacturing, Inc.
Art's Way manufactures and distributes farm machinery niche products including animal feed processing equipment, sugar beet defoliators and harvesters, land maintenance equipment, crop shredding equipment, round hay bailers, plows, hay and forage equipment, manure spreaders and top and bottom drive augers. After-market service parts are also an important part of the Company's business. The Company has two wholly owned subsidiaries. Art's Way Vessels, Inc. manufactures pressurized tanks and vessels; Art's Way Scientific, Inc. manufactures modular animal confinement buildings and modular laboratories.
