Harrington Industrial Plastics, a distributor of industrial products for corrosive and high purity applications, made a pair of announcements in late July that included a new warehouse opening and an acquisition.
The Chico, CA-based distributor of PVF, tubing and hosing, pumps & accessories and more, announced the grand opening of its new Fort Wayne, IN distribution center on July 24. The 68,000-square-foot facility is located just off I-930 and will service the Great Lakes area and Harrington's existing branches in Chicago, Cincinnati, Columbus, Detroit, Grand Rapids and Indianapolis.
"Our ability to house expanded quantities of our products supports Harrington’s vision for the future," the company said. "Our goal is to have the products our customers need, on the floor and ready to ship, decreasing wait times for project completions; increasing productivity and customer satisfaction."
A day earlier on July 23, Harrington announced that it had acquired Aetna Plastics, a similar distributor of industrial plastics, process piping systems and fabrication services provider based just south of Cleveland, OH. Aetna was founded in 1946 by Paul Davis and his son Gary Davis took over as president in 1975 and continues to lead the company today.
"The combination of Aetna’s capabilities with Harrington’s national reach is a powerful one," Gary Davis said. "This merger is great for customers and for employees and offers us the chance to partner with a market leader and really focus on growing our business."
"Aetna’s market-leading position in fabrication combined with Harrington’s national reach offers tremendous nationwide growth potential for our two companies," Harrington president David Ambercrombie said. "Aetna’s local strength in industrial plastics and process piping systems will add significantly to our regional capabilities. Coming on the heels of our $2.5 million investment to establish a distribution center in Fort Wayne, IN, this investment speaks volumes of our belief in the region, its people and its potential."
“We have found in Gary Davis and Aetna a very strong cultural fit and shared vision and ambition for our combined companies. We look forward to working together to bring new capabilities to our customers and our vendor partners,” Harrington CEO Eben Lenderking added Harrington.