ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, February 7, 1996 TAG: 9602070014
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: C-8 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: GREG EDWARDS STAFF WRITER
RBX Corp. of Roanoke said Tuesday the company has signed a letter of intent to purchase the assets of the Ensolite division of Uniroyal Technology Corp. of Sarasota, Fla.
Ensolite makes closed-cell foam rubber and plastic sheeting products similar to those made by Rubatex, an RBX subsidiary. The company has been one of Rubatex's competitors.
The deal, which is expected to be closed by the end of March, includes Ensolite's machinery and customer base but does not include its real estate or employees, Jery Kirschke, a Rubatex vice president, said.
Terms of the deal, whose completion is still subject to conditions, including negotiation of a purchase agreement, were not disclosed.
Steven Schaefer, RBX's chief executive officer, said the acquisition of Ensolite should enhance the company's ability to serve its customers. It is expected that the Ensolite operations will be combined with those of Rubatex, he said.
The acquisition announcement and last week's meeting between Rubatex management and employees about possible improvements at the company's Bedford plant reflect the direction in which Rubatex's new owners have said they want to take the company.
Rubatex and RBX, have headquarters in the Valleypointe corporate center in Roanoke County. The new owners, American Industrial Partners of San Francisco and New York, took charge of RBX in October. At the time AIP indicated that it wanted Rubatex's foam-rubber business to grow through acquisitions and expansions.
A week ago, Rubatex president Frank Roland met with the company's 800 employees in Bedford to discuss tentative plans for improvements to operations there. The Bedford plant already has a new general manager, Steve Turner, who came to Rubatex from Dayco, a maker of rubber products for the auto industry.
Roland said he told workers at Bedford that management had found the plant's operations were not up to company standards. Shortcomings, he said, included the plant's layout and operational systems such as those needed to manage scheduling, inventories and production.
Rubatex, Roland said, is committed to improving the plant in such areas as product development, training and plant layout. Management is considering spending $5.7 million on a two-year, five-phase plan, he said.
Essentially, the plan would consolidate operations from six buildings into two, including warehouse space. But the plan is still tentative, and any new investment in Bedford may depend on the workers themselves.
In return for the company's commitment to the plant, Roland said Rubatex asked the Bedford employees for a commitment of their own to quality control, training, teamwork, consolidation of facilities and new operating systems.
Rubatex's architect is about three months from completing plans for phase one of the proposed investment in Bedford. If management can see visible improvements at the plant during that time, the company will go ahead with phase one, Roland said. ``If we don't see any improvement, we will have to re-evaluate the entire project,'' he said.
Employees' reaction to the informational meetings that were held for each of the three operating shifts last Wednesday was ``very positive,'' Roland said.
Price Parker Jr., president of the United Steelworkers local at Rubatex, said the union is glad Rubatex wants to spend money in Bedford. The union and company are trying to work together, he said.
``We want things to go well,'' Parker said. ``We want things to grow and prosper; if they do, it means job security.''
Rubatex makes closed-cell foam rubber at the Bedford plant as well as adhesives and a composite sheet material made from rubber scrap.
Besides the plant in Bedford, Rubatex operates factories in Conover, N.C., and Colt, Ark., and has six warehouses around the country. RBX Holdings has half a dozen other subsidiaries involved in some aspect of the rubber or plastics business.
LENGTH: Medium: 74 linesby CNB