Mayville Engineering Company (MEC), a contract manufacturer based in Mayville, Wis., recently acquired Fabricating Specialists LLC, a startup manufacturer of formed tubes and form tube assemblies. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.
Fabricating Specialists will open a 54,000 square foot facility in Neillsville, in western Wisconsin, by the end of August, said Robert Kamphuis, chairman, president and CEO of MEC. When it begins operations, Fabricating Specialists will have 10 to 30 employees. "We expect, in the next three years, to have close to 100 employees," Kamphuis said.
Jim Grunewald and Steve Donovan, founders of Fabricating Specialists, have become MEC employees. Kamphuis met the pair when they were seeking to lease space for their startup company. "We fabricated about $100 million worth of parts in Wisconsin and the Midwest last year," he said. "Their company is going to do some unique stuff that is right up our alley. Their business model is ready to take off."
MEC is 91 percent owned by its employee stock ownership program (ESOP), Kamphuis said. Both Grunewald and Donovan have become part of the ESOP, he said. Being part of the larger company will help the startup company to grow quickly, Grunewald said.
"Being part of the MEC family of companies gives a tremendous foundation and unlimited potential," he said. "MEC’s financial strength, business support systems and breadth of capabilities coupled with its unparalleled commitment to zero defect quality and outstanding customer satisfaction creates tremendous opportunities in the marketplace."
