AFC Industries Acquires Forward Industrial Products

AFC Industries has acquired Birmingham, U.K.-based distributor Forward Industrial Products (Forward Industrial Products Group) through its TFC Business Unit. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Forward Industrial Products is an industry leading supplier of C-Class components, vendor managed inventory services and MRO services, with a focus on enhancing the productivity and effectiveness of its customers’ manufacturing operations. Forward provides a range of value-added services as well as both standard and custom items and engineered products. Birmingham-based Bracebridge Corporate Finance was the sole advisor to Forward for the transaction.

“We’re really pleased to be part of AFC and the growing TFC group,” said Martyn Cleaver, managing director of Forward. “The partnership is a perfect fit for Forward Industrial. It opens up new opportunities within our existing customer network and enables us to share our 28 years of industry expertise with TFC’s customers and bring their strengths to ours. Our management team is excited about the next chapter with AFC/TFC.”

“It was a strategic goal of ours to expand our operations and capabilities in the U.K. and Europe in a way that would complement our TFC team,” said AFC CEO Kevin Godin. “Forward is a great fit for us both culturally and geographically. Their dedication to service and solving problems for customers make them a natural integration for us.”

President of AFC Europe (TFC) Morgan Burgoyne added: “Bringing these teams together immediately strengthens both and further establishes us as the leading component solutions provider in our key markets. The future is bright as we continue to invest in the right people and capabilities to provide superior market knowledge and service to our customers.”

Headquartered in West Chester, Ohio, AFC Industries is a dynamic organization dedicated to providing supply chain management solutions on small components and tooling for a diverse base of manufacturers and assemblers across a broad range of industries. Through its experienced team and global resources, AFC excels at making customer manufacturing and assembly processes more efficient and cost-effective. Visit www.afcind.com.

TFC, a Business Unit of AFC, is a leading provider of vendor managed inventory solutions and technical engineering products in Europe. It has supplied engineering products and C-Class parts across Europe for over 60 years. Its focus is on helping customers improve manufacturing efficiencies and providing design expertise, VMI solutions and innovation in technical product development.

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