February 1, 2018 — Singer Industrial, Inc. has acquired Smith Industrial Rubber & Plastics Inc. headquartered in Rockford, Illinois. Smith Industrial is a distributor and fabricator of hydraulic hose and fittings, conveyor belting, industrial hose, sheet rubber and die cut parts from plastic and rubber. The business was founded in the 1940s as a division of Smith Oil Corp. who was a dominant distributor of petroleum, rubber products and select automotive parts through most of the 20th century in the Rock River valley. Current owners Scott Greenfield and Tom Rudnicki were originally salesmen for Smith Industrial Rubber. Tom Rudnicki will remain as General Manager and will continue operating under the Smith Industrial Rubber and Plastics name.
“Scott Greenfield, Tom Rudnicki and their team have built a reputable rubber distribution business over the past 30 years and have earned that through their value-add product offerings and dedication to customer service”, stated Sam Petillo, President of Singer Industrial. Adding, “We are very excited and proud to have Smith Industrial Rubber & Plastics join the Singer Industrial team and expand our geographic footprint into Illinois. The addition of Smith Industrial further diversifies our customer base.” Rudnicki said, “Through this partnership with Singer we maintain our name, identity and business model that enabled Smith’s growth over the past 75 years. We plan to leverage Singer’s strength in the rubber industry to hasten the pace of our growth in the Midwest.”
Singer Industrial, along with Bishop Lifting Products, are wholly owned subsidiaries of Singer Industrial. Singer Industrial specializes in industrial hose, hydraulic hose, conveyor belt and gasket material fabrication and services. Bishop Lifting is engaged in the fabrication, distribution and rental of wire rope and rigging products and services. The combined entity has 58 locations throughout North America with over 1050 employees. More information can be obtained at www.sbpholdings.com and www.singerequities.com.