Northern Composites, Krayden discuss acquisition

Earlier this year, distributor Krayden Inc. (Denver, Colo., U.S.) acquired composites distributor Northern Composites (Hampton, N.H., U.S.) (see “Krayden acquires Northern Composites”). The deal substantially widened Krayden’s presence in the composites industry and expanded Northern Composites’ global reach. CW talked to both companies about the acquisition and what it means.

Krayden, which was founded in 1989, primarily distributes adhesives and sealants and offers products from 3M, Bostik, Dow, Henkel, Huntsman, LORD, Permabond, Plexus, Sika, HB Fuller and others. The company was co-founded and is led by Wayne Wagner, president, who notes that Krayden already had a strong distribution network in N.A. with stocking warehouses in Georgia, Texas, Illinois, Colorado, California, Mexico, Canada and SE Asia. What the company lacked, he says, was a stocking presence in the U.S. Northeast. What really drew Krayden to Northern Composites was its product lines and ability to manufacture vacuum bagging process materials “The last horizon for us stocking in North America was the Northeast,” Wagner says. “The acquisition of Northern Composites allows us to expand our customer base and our product offerings.”

Richard Hewett was the president of Northern Composites prior to the acquisition, but today holds the title of general manager, post-acquisition. Northern Composites, he says, has a long history in the composites industry, dating back to its founding in 1965 in New Hampshire as Northern Fiber Glass Sales Inc.

The company distributes process materials, adhesives, prepregs, woven reinforcements, resins, release agents, tooling materials and more for Mitsubishi Chemical Carbon Fiber and Composites, Henkel, Precision Fabrics Group, BGF Industries, PTM&W, ITW, American Fiber & Finishing and Advanced Ceramics Manufacturing. Notably, however, Northern Composites also began, in 2016, to manufacture and market its own line of vacuum bagging consumables and vacuum infusion products.

“By joining Krayden, we not only expand our reach for the companies we represent, but we also expand our reach for the entire Northern Composites line as well,” Hewett says. “We are excited to be able to stock our materials in other locations.”

Wagner and Hewett say that Northern Composites as a business entity will eventually cease to exist, but that the Northern Composites brand within Krayden will persist. Hewett says Northern Composites also has a sales staff of seven people, all of whom have joined the Krayden sales team leading the growth of the Northern Composites brand.