PennEngineering® acquires Whitesell® Formed Components
15 August 2017
PennEngineering® has announced the acquisition of Whitesell® Formed Components – with operations in Waterford, Romulus and Novi, Michigan, USA – and Whitesell Canada in Vaughan, Ontario, Canada.
Whitesell Formed Components, also known as FabriSteel®, manufactures piercing, clinching, and riveting fasteners for the automotive market. “We are excited to reunite a 40-year heritage between FabriSteel and PROFIL® and have both highly regarded product lines together in our portfolio,” stated Mark Petty, CEO of PennEngineering. (PROFIL was some years ago the European division of FabriSteel.)
Whitesell Canada is a technical distributor of proprietary ‘design-in’ print specific fasteners and components – to the automotive and
transportation markets throughout North America – and will operate alongside PennEngineering’s existing automotive ‘make to print’ business.
The acquired businesses will join the existing PennEngineering brands and operate under the PENNAutomotive™ division offering automotive OEMs a wide range of mission critical solutions.
“The acquisition of these outstanding businesses under the PENNAutomotive banner is a key step by PennEngineering in the evolution of our mechanically attached fasteners offering in North America for our automotive and transportation customers, and continues our intense focus on engineered products for assembly,” stated Chris Marx, PennEngineering chief commercial officer.
“While the Whitesell Group rarely has divested any of its businesses in its 46-year history, these two companies shared a unique long-term alignment with PENNAutomotive, making it an ideal opportunity for the future of those companies and their employees.
The Whitesell Group remains committed and active in its long-term aggressive growth and diversification strategy both organically and through strategic acquisition,” stated Neil L. Whitesell, chairman and chief executive officer of the Whitesell Group of companies.
Founded in 1920, FabriSteel Products was acquired by the Whitesell Group in 2004 from CVC Partners.
