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| Best, Artex
combine for manufacturing-sales synergy |
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New partners: Rick Jarrad (Milliken), Terry Anderson (Best:Artex),
Ben Shoaf (Milliken), and Scott Korman (Best).
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INDUSTRIAL LAUNDERER
AUGUST 2004
Best Manufacturing Group LLC has acquired Artex International, Inc., the Highland, Ill.-based manufacturer and supplier of textiles and garments for the U.S. textile service and hospitality markets.
Commenting on the acquisition, Scott Korman, Best chairman
and CEO, said, “The associates of Artex complement Best
Manufacturing with over 70 years of knowledge and accomplishments,
creating a combined company with the deepest capabilities”
in the textile service and hospitality markets.
“Artex’s institutional product lines, combined with
deep manufacturing expertise, world-wide market coverage and
accomplished global sourcing, will allow us to provide our customers
the best product offerings and the most diverse mix of value-added
services available in the institutional textiles marketplace
anywhere in the world.”
Terry Anderson, Artex chairman and CEO, commented that,
“As the textile industry goes through what industry analysts
say is ‘epochal change,’ only one company today is
positioned to move forward: Best Manufacturing.”
The company can provide textile service operations with a trusted,
continuous source of product, Anderson observed. “No other
company is nearly as global in its understanding of quality
and delivery.”
Best, founded in 1914, provides a range of products to the textile service, hospitality, healthcare and image apparel markets, including, napery, uniforms, and other textile products. The company is headquartered in Jersey City, N.J. and has operations based in Massachusetts, Georgia, South Carolina, Illinois, Texas, Nevada, Canada, and Mexico.
The acquisition is part of Best’s strategy to focus on
its core textile and garment businesses, expand product and
service offerings, and grow through acquisition. The consolidation
also represents the realization of Artex’s vision for combining
global manufacturing with first-rate sales capabilities.
In 2002, Best Manufacturing Group acquired H.W. Baker Linen, now functioning as a fully integrated member of the Best family as its hospitality business. Best remains committed to its relationship with fabric supplier Milliken & Co. and views the addition of Artex to the team as an asset to an already strong alliance.
Artex, founded in 1933, manufactures and supplies textiles and garments for the rental laundry and hospitality markets in the U.S. and abroad, including napkins, tablecloths, garments, aprons, sheets, towels, pillowcases, and more. The company is described as a full-line integrated manufacturer from weaving fabric to producing a finished product.
Artex is headquartered in Highland, Ill. and has distribution centers and manufacturing facilities in the United States, Asia, and Mexico.
Reporting to Korman, Anderson will lead a newly formed subsidiary
of Best (known as Best:Artex LLC) consisting of the Artex
operation plus Best’s institutional unit. According to
Best, the union creates a complementary business that leverages
the global manufacturing and sourcing capabilities of Artex
with the napery, garment, sales, and distribution strengths
of Best.
Combined operations will offer expansive geographic coverage and the deepest distribution capabilities for institutional textiles for the textile service, hospitality, and image apparel markets, Best said. Customers will benefit from a broader line of product choices, expanded services, a larger field sales force, and a combined experience base in the industry unrivalled by competitors.
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