Santa Maria’s Helical Products Company Inc. has been acquired by an Illinois business, which will allow the longtime local manufacturer to retain its headquarters and all of its employees.
MW Industries Inc., which is headquartered outside Chicago in Rosemont, where it engineers springs, fasteners and other machined parts, officially closed the sale this month.
Founded in 1961, Helical will continue manufacturing standard and custom couplings, U-joints and machined springs for domestic and international customers at its facility at 901 W. McCoy Lane, according to Chris Tofalli, a spokesman handling questions about the acquisition.
“MW has offered employment to all current employees of Helical, and all have accepted,” he said. “MW has no plans to relocate any portion of Helical’s operations. In addition, MW has signed a long-term lease for use of all current Helical facilities.
“Helical Products will operate as a division of MW and will retain the name Helical Products with the addition of the tag line ‘a division of MW Industries.’”
Helical gained popularity after its late founder, George Sabadash, developed the concept and method of producing the HELI-CAL Flexible (Beam) Coupling as a single piece flexible coupling.
The business moved from a basement operation to a garage and then a Redondo Beach facility before opening at its present location in 1973.
The plant size tripled in 1983 and its last expansion was in 2005, again doubling manufacturing space.
Helical’s sale joins a list of several acquisitions made by MW to strengthen its product offerings and customer base, an effort the company says is ongoing.
MW has more than 23,000 customers in over 35 countries, with 40,000-plus products sold through direct sales, catalogs and distributors to original equipment manufacturers or customers primarily involved in aerospace, medical, electronics, energy, agriculture/construction, automotive replacement and military.
“Helical Products Company has an excellent reputation in the domestic and international marketplace for innovation, quality and a true focus on the customer’s needs,” MW Industries CEO Bill Marcum said in a statement. “The company’s product and workforce are highly complementary to our existing business base, and, as part of the MW integrated family of companies, we believe that Helical Products is better positioned to penetrate and expand in our existing markets, including aerospace and aviation, agriculture, medical, recreational and other industrial markets.”
— Noozhawk staff writer Gina Potthoff can be reached at gpotthoff@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.