Continuing its strategy of adding to its base in armored wire and cable, AFC Cable Systems, Inc., New Bedford, Mass., announced the acquisition of Georgia Pipe Co. for about $15 million.
The acquisition gives AFC a line of rigid PVC conduit to sell for both traditional power-wiring and new low-voltage applications, says Jay Thomas, AFC's director of marketing.
Georgia Pipe, Thomasville, Ga., employs more than 100 workers in a 150,000-sq-ft manufacturing facility. The company makes rigid PVC conduit and markets PVC conduit fittings.
AFC, which had 1997 sales of $220.3 million, will continue to manufacture all of Georgia Pipe's products out of the Thomasville facility, says Thomas. Jaakko Uuranniemi, president of Georgia Pipe, will continue to manage the business, he added.
Through a series of acquisitions over the past few years, AFC has diversified from its core armored cable products into fittings, non-metallic conduit and low-voltage wiring systems. The company has moved into the datacom, security and fire-alarm markets by armoring low-voltage wire and cable for these applications and supplementing these products with an assortment of related products.