Kolene Corporation Acquires Upton Industries

Kolene Corporation, a leader of custom-designed and engineered molten salt bath equipment and specialty chemical formulations, has acquired Upton Industries.

Founded in 1937, Upton Industries designs and manufactures thermal processing systems in the metal heat treating industry. Upton says its Engineered Thermal Solutions methodology has enabled it to become a leader in traditional lines of heat treat equipment including box type, car bottom, lift-off and specialty furnaces using either electric heating or gas-fired systems. Kolene will maintain both the Detroit headquarters location and the Roseville location, which will be home to all Kolene’s manufacturing and fabrication. By bringing the two companies together, Kolene will reportedly house nearly 50,000 square feet of manufacturing, fabrication and commercial processing capabilities.

W. Scott Schilling, Kolene’s president says, “After thoroughly evaluating Upton’s capabilities, it was apparent that there are tremendous synergies between the two companies. Capitalizing on these synergies will allow Kolene to expand into applications and revenue segments where we have not historically been. Kolene will also have the ability to become more vertically integrated due to Upton’s manufacturing and fabrications capabilities, which will allow us to strengthen our overall margins.”

“When the opportunity presented itself to begin discussions with Upton, the similarities between the two companies and what we provide to the customers in the industries that we serve made this marriage ideal,” says Roger L. Shoemaker, chairman & CEO of Kolene.

In its 82nd year, Detroit-based Kolene Corporation provides custom-designed and engineered equipment, specialized chemical formulations and processes for cleaning and conditioning metal surfaces. Kolene reports its products are used worldwide for casting cleaning, alloy descaling, coatings removal, engine rebuild and other automotive, industrial and military applications.