Hillman Solutions, a provider of hardware products and merchandising solutions, announced that it has acquired Koch Industries, a premier provider and merchandiser of rope and twine, chain and wire rope, and related hardware products. This acquisition marks the entrance into rope and chain, a new product category for Hillman.
Hillman plans to seamlessly bring these additional products to existing customers while realizing shipping, sourcing, and service efficiencies along the way. In 2022, it added 20,000-square-feet to its Hamilton, Ohio packaging facility, allowing the company to invest in new state-of-the-art packaging and printing equipment.
Having recently entered the adjacent category of rope and chain accessories, the addition of rope and chain will further embed Hillman with its blue-chip customers.
“This bolt-on, attractive acquisition allows us to leverage our moat in order to capitalize on growth opportunities in this new product category,” commented Doug Cahill, chairman, president, and CEO of Hillman. “Koch has healthy, long-term relationships with its top-ten customers, having done business with them for an average of over 20 years. We look to continue to take care of our customers with our 1,100-member field sales and service team, our direct-to-store shipping approach, and our portfolio of owned-brands that set us apart from the competition.”
While Koch Industries was first established as a distributor of wire rope, it successfully expanded its customer base to hardware, home improvement, and other retail market channels.
“For 45 years, we have built Koch Industries with the goal of delivering quality products with the highest level of service for our customers,” added Randy Koch, co-owner and co-CE. “Transitioning our business to Hillman was an obvious choice, considering their strong competitive moat and track record of growth and service.”
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