Specialist manufacturer Avon Rubber has become a global leader in the manufacture of helmets for military personnel and first responders following the completion of a major US acquisition.
The Melksham-headquartered group paid $130m (£100m) for Team Wendy, which makes head protection systems for military, law enforcement, search and rescue and the adventure markets.
The move boosts Avon Rubber’s presence in the US defence market, where it is a long-standing supplier of respirators and specialist masks for the military and homeland security.
Team Wendy, based in Cleveland, Ohio, where it employs 130 people, has become a subsidiary of Avon Protection.
Avon bosses said by combining Team Wendy with Avon Protection’s existing helmets & armour business, it would create a global leader with a broader product portfolio, stronger capabilities and routes to market.
As a result, there would be “significant business development opportunities over the medium-term” by harnessing Team Wendy’s complementary customer base and well-established global footprint. The firm has a track record of strong organic revenue and profit growth, Avon said.
The acquisition used the proceeds from July’s £180m sale of Avon Rubber’s core dairy business milkrite | InterPuls to Swedish group DeLaval, is a world leader in producing milking equipment for the farming industry.
Avon Rubber directors said they believed the acquisition would enhance shareholder value through “the redeployment of capital into a highly complementary business with higher growth and margins”.
Team Wendy has a diversified customer base of military and first responder users for its helmets in the US and, globally, in more than 50 countries. It also has strong research and development capabilities with leading helmet liner and retention system technologies and a focus on impact protection capabilities.
Avon Rubber also said the Team Wendy brand name was well respected and widely recognised internationally for its high-quality products, commitment to safety and advanced technological capabilities. Team Wendy acheived earnings of $13.4m on sales of $44.2m in 2019.
Avon Rubber chief executive officer Paul McDonald said: “The acquisition of Team Wendy is another important strategic step in the transformation of Avon Rubber into a leading provider of life critical personal protection systems.
“Bringing Team Wendy into the same family with our existing helmets & armour business establishes Avon Protection as a global leader in military and first responder helmets, with an enhanced and broader product portfolio with stronger capabilities and routes to market.”
Earlier this year Avon Protection acquired 3M's ballistic protection business and the Ceradyne brand.
