Coleman Cable Buys Assets of Watteredge for Broader Offering of Industrial Connectors

Coleman Cable, Inc., Waukegan, Ill., said it has completed the acquisition of substantially all of the assets of Watteredge, Inc., Cleveland, in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $35 million.

Watteredge designs, manufactures and sells secondary power connectors, including electric arc furnace cables, resistance welding cables, industrial copper bus bars and accessories, and other power conduction devices and accessories. Watteredge serves the steel, chemical, chlorine, power generation, fiberglass and automotive industries and sells its products and services worldwide. Some of its products are also used by electrical manufacturers in products such as switchgear, drives and wind turbines.

“This acquisition immediately expands our product platform and allows us to provide an entirely new line of highly engineered industrial products across a number of end markets,” said Gary Yetman, president and chief executive officer of Coleman. “Furthermore, by aligning ourselves with Watteredge, we acquire a management team with a history of delivering consistently strong financial results and proven experience in providing value-added, engineered solutions to its customers both in the United States and internationally.”

Watteredge, formed in 1949, has been family owned and operated for 30 years. Coleman plans to retain Watteredge’s workforce and continue all of its production at Watteredge’s manufacturing plant in Avon Lake, Ohio. The 75,000-square-foot facility was recently upgraded with a comprehensive wireless control system for machine-to-machine and server-to-machine communications. Watteredge posted sales for 2011 of nearly $25 million and adjusted earnings of $6 million.