Worcester Manufacturer Acquired
Walker Magnetics Group of Worcester has been acquired by a Pennsylvania-based private equity firm after Walker management actively sought a buyer to help strengthen the company and improve business processes, the two firms announced today.
The buyer, Alliance Holdings Inc., of Abington, Pa., said it will retain key Walker management. The value of the deal was not disclosed.
Walker Magnetics produces magnetic products for workholding (or holding work pieces together), material handling and separation applications using permanent, electromagnetic and electro-permanent magnetic technologies. It was founded in 1896 by Oakley S. Walker, the inventor of the electromagnetic chuck, and has grown from that one product to a global company with a diversified product line. The company also has facilities in Columbus, Ohio, and Ontario, Canada. It employs 100, with 65 in Worcester.
"Alliance Holdings has an impressive track record of strengthening companies," said Dick Longo, Walker's president and CEO. "Their financial and operational expertise will make Walker Magnetics better equipped to identify new opportunities and increase sales throughout the world.
"Everyone at Walker is looking forward to the next chapter in our rich history," he added.
Kenneth J. Wanko, president and CEO at Alliance, said that with the acquisition, Walker will be "solidly positioned for growth through enhanced research, development, marketing and sales of exceptional products globally."
Alliance is fully owned by its employees, with its employee stock ownership plan having grown to be one of the largest in the United States, it said.
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