NY private equity group selling Carlisle plant

A 56-year-old Springfield rubber belt factory is in line for its fifth owner in the last 15 years.

Carlisle Power Transmission Products, owned by New York private equity group American Industrial Partners, has agreed to a $220 million sale of its Springfield and Fort Scott, Kan., belt plants to The Timken Co. (NYSE: TKR), according to transaction details prepared for investors.

The $3 billion Timken Co., which primarily builds and distributes industrial bearings, would add $140 million in annual revenue and 750 employees, officials say, when the cash and debt acquisition closes in the third quarter. The deal is pending federal regulatory approvals.

The Springfield factory and rubber mixing plant generates about $93 million in belt and component sales, according to local officials. Plant Manager Rob Cowan said the 650,000-square-foot plant at 2601 W. Battlefield Road manufactures nearly 16,000 belts a day.

“We’ve been a lot higher than that in the past,” Cowan said.

Now operating under The Carlstar Group, the Springfield Carlisle plant started in 1959 as Dayco Corp. and manufactured belts and hoses for the automotive and industrial sectors until 2001, when Carlisle Cos. Inc. (NYSE: CSL) bought the business from Mark IV Industries. Under the new ownership, the business stopped producing automotive belts, and annual production with some 475 employees has since been flat or recorded slight gains, said Carlisle Power President John Vassilaros.

Senior management in Springfield said the company sold its 1 billionth belt this summer.

The private equity group bought the belt business in late December 2013, with the intent of investing and selling.

“We’ve gone through several ownership and name changes. Hopefully, it will be our last for a while,” said Vassilaros, who came on board 13 months after a 23-year career with Regal Beloit Corp. (NYSE: RBC). “It was public knowledge they were going to sell it. It sold a lot quicker, 18 months basically. Timken does not buy to resell; they buy to grow.”

Officials at North Canton, Ohio-based Timken told investors they expect the deal to be accretive in the first year of operations. Timken shares were trading at $29.62 as of 10 a.m., compared to a 52-week range of $28.42 to $46.03.

While the Carlisle brand is part of the acquisition, the name on the Springfield building is expected to change.

“We’re in the early stage of discussing our branding,” Vassilaros said. “The sign will change eventually. It won’t change next week or next month. It’ll take some time.”