NEWBURYPORT, MA, USA – NOVEMBER 17, 2016 – ZAMPELL COMPANIES – The year 2016 is an exciting year for Zampell, highlighted by new growth, expansion, and leadership. On November 17, a team from Zampell and members of the Huston family passed papers and closed the acquisition of Western Industrial Ceramics, Inc. (WIC) by Zampell Refractories, Inc. As part of this new expansion, Sean Case was elevated to the title of Divisional Vice President, responsible for all of New England and the West Coast.
“Today’s an exciting day for Zampell,” said Brian Zampell, CEO. “It’s an honor to elevate Sean to the title of Vice President in recognition of all of his contributions to Zampell over the years and tremendous leadership in making us who we are today. This acquisition of WIC helps Zampell to augment its offerings and increase its West Coast presence. Sean and our whole Zampell team did a great job putting it together.”
Western Industrial Ceramics, Inc., or “WIC” as it’s commonly known, is a provider of a variety of specialty refractories throughout the West Coast and beyond. Half of the business is focused on the manufacturing, fabrication, and distribution of specialty parts made from primarily refractory ceramic fibers. These parts are used in energy, investment casting, foundry, manufacturing, heat treating, and other high temperature industrial applications. The other half of the business is focused on furnace construction and repair with a mix of refractory ceramic fiber, castable refractories, and brick. They have a dedicated customer and employee base that Jim Huston and his team cultivated over many years. Since Jim’s passing in 2013, the company continued with support from his wife and daughters until its sale to Zampell.
Sean commented on the acquisition, “It’s great to close this deal and move forward with the great people from WIC as part of our team here at Zampell. They have some innovative, fabricated products and a good service team that we can take and build. The acquisition itself was a team effort all around; everyone in the senior leadership team here at Zampell and WIC jumped through a lot of hoops to make this a successful deal.”
Zampell plans to make several changes as part of the WIC acquisition in order to position the company for future success for many years to come. These changes will give WIC better access to the overall capabilities of Zampell and enhance their service offerings with increased technical infrastructure. The company will be segmented into two core operations. First, the product distribution, fabrication, and manufacturing operations will fall under the existing entity, ZAR-Tech, Inc., but continue to operate as “Western Industrial Ceramics” given their strong brand on the West Coast. Joe Flynn, Operations Manager at ZAR-TECH, will be in charge of managing and positioning WIC to continue for many years to come. The engineering and installation business will be merged into Zampell Refractories, Inc., giving it heightened technical and operational infrastructure that will enable it to tackle larger projects and capture new efficiencies.
“Overall, it’s a great day for both companies as it marks a new beginning for the employees of Western Industrial Ceramics. This acquisition means that our customers can enjoy great service and enhanced value for many years to come,” said Brian Zampell.
Zampell is a merit shop service organization that is chiefly involved with the engineering and construction of refractories, insulation, and scaffolding within the industrial and commercial sectors, and facilities management in all sectors. It is a family-owned business that was established in 1966 and continues to grow due to its core value of quality craftsmanship. Zampell is headquartered in Massachusetts and has branch offices in Maine, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Florida, Texas, Oregon, and Louisiana. Zampell also has a subsidiary, Zampell A/S, with locations in Jutland and Sjælland in Denmark, and subsidiaries Zampell Ltd. and Vulcan Refractories in Stoke-on-Trent, England. It also operates a janitorial products company, Custodial Partners, in Massachusetts, and ZAR-Tech, a refractories distribution company with locations in Massachusetts and New York. For more information on the Zampell family of companies, please visit their website at www.zampell.com.