Drew acquires Calif. trailer maker for $10.7M

Drew Industries Inc. of White Plains, a publicly traded supplier of components for recreational vehicles and manufactured homes, recently paid about $10.7 million to acquire a California-based manufacturer of specialty trailers for high-end boats.
Drew, through its wholly owned subsidiary, Lippert Components, purchased Extreme Engineering Inc. and the Riverside company”™s affiliate, Pivit Hitch Inc. The two companies reported $12 million in sales collectively in 2006, Drew officials said.
Extreme Engineering”™s trailers are built according to customer specifications and sold through performance boat and ski boat manufacturers and dealers nationwide. Leigh J. Abrams, Drew”™s president and CEO, said the acquired company”™s operations “will be an excellent fit with our existing California-based subsidiary Zieman Manufacturing, which manufactures specialty trailers primarily for smaller, less expensive boats.”
Abrams said the acquisition should also result in “numerous cost and marketing synergies.”
Lippert will continue production at Extreme Engineering”™s leased Riverside plants and transfer some operations there as existing Zieman factories are consolidated. Edward Rowland and Thomas Hunsucker, the former owners, will continue to operate Extreme Engineering under three-year employments agreements.