by Brianna Crandall — November 23, 2012—South Florida’s Armchem International, a business-to-business provider of specialty industrial and maintenance products to over 25,000 customers worldwide, announced on November 19 that it has acquired the Greensboro-based Handi-Clean Products, a manufacturer of environmentally friendly cleaning products and equipment.
“The acquisition of Handi-Clean allows Armchem to expand in many exciting ways, said Armchem CEO Andrew Brahms. “For the first time in our 30-year history, we will now have manufacturing capabilities. This allows us to provide our customers with additional product offerings in both the Armchem and Handi-Clean lines and deliver very competitive pricing,” said Brahms.
The deal also enables Armchem to grow their market share in key regions, including North and South Carolina, home to many of Handi-Clean’s largest accounts. Brahms will focus his efforts on account building and product diversification, and current CEO Clark Bunting will remain involved in the day to day operations of Handi-Clean, a business that was founded in 1953.
This acquisition is the third step of an expansion plan that began last year at Armchem, which was actually precipitated by the recession. While most companies were cutting back and laying off employees, Brahms took the opposite approach, with an aggressive business strategy to increase the sales coming from current domestic clients as well as introduce products to a more international market. The success of a new 5,000-square-foot call center led to an increase in warehouse space of 4,000 square feet.
Armchem provides products that help businesses run smoother, faster, cleaner, safer and healthier. The company’s comprehensive catalog from a variety of manufacturers features green, maintenance/repair/operations (MRO), facilities maintenance, floor and carpet care, foodservice, insect and rodent control, MRSA, odor control and industrial products, as well as aerosols, bags and can liners, chemicals and janitorial supply, sanitizers, mops and brooms, waste receptacles and more.
