Riverside Manufacturing, known for harsh-environment electrical products and engineering, announced it has acquired Transportation Safety Technologies, a provider of electronic solutions for the commercial and emergency transportation industry. Riverside acquired TST from international investment firm Arcapita, which purchased TST in 2000. Terms were not disclosed.
“I am very excited to bring these two Indiana companies together,” says Fred Merritt, chief executive officer of Indianapolis-based Riverside Manufacturing. “I see a unique opportunity for the two of us to do together what we could never do apart — to become the world’s largest and best manufacturer of electrical components for all military and specialty vehicles.”
TST is a provider of custom electronic panels and object detection sensors for the transportation industry. It designs and manufactures advanced electronic controls and safety systems for commercial delivery, local service, emergency and utility service fleet vehicles. TST’s past and present customers include Lifeline Emergency Vehicles, Altec Industries, VT Leeboy, Oshkosh, Heil Environmental Corp., Sysco and Terminix.
TST will maintain its 34,000-square-foot facility in Indianapolis and 26,000-square-foot assembly plant in Fort Payne, Ala. Merritt will become CEO of the consolidated enterprise and split time between the Fort Wayne and Indianapolis offices.
Riverside Manufacturing provides lighting, electrical and electromechanical products for harsh environments and military applications. Purchased in 2002 by Merritt, the company says it has grown from annual revenue of $5 million with 35 employees to $43 million with 330 employees in the past five years.
Combined, Riverside Manufacturing and TST are set to yield a value of more than $100 million by 2009, the companies say; the combined company currently employs more than 500 employees, and annual revenue exceeds $60 million.
