Members of the Frankl & Thomas team include (Seated L-R) Trish Graham, comptroller; Mike Alexander, vice president and general manager; and Robina Hogan, staff engineer. (Standing L-R) David Boaz, territory manager; Bill Boozer, territory manager; Mark Easley, territory manager; and Al Thomas, president.
CONTINUING DIVERSIFICATION
Frankl & Thomas' acquisition of Feil & Davidson going smoothly
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Lang Ligon & Co., Inc.
Posted April 21, 2014
By Devin Steele
GREENVILLE, S.C. – Al Thomas says he has never shied away from diversification or from a smart business deal – in good times or bad.
That’s one reason, one could posit, that Frankl & Thomas, Inc. (F&T) has survived and thrived for 43 years under the Thomas’ leadership. And the timing was right for the company’s most recent latest acquisition, of Feil & Davidson, Inc. of Greensboro, N.C., at the end of 2013.
“There’s a renaissance now for ring spinning in the United States,” said Thomas, whose company supplies high-quality, innovative product solutions and systems from around the world. “There are new plants being constructed and plants being upfitted in this country. We are pleased to be in a position to better serve the short-staple segment of the American textile industry.”
Feil & Davidson had a commanding position serving American short-staple spinning plants, and with the acquisition, Frankl & Thomas has expanded its product line dramatically in that area. The company has continued Feil & Davidson’s best-known products, including Kanai spinning rings and wire as well as Spindlefabrik Neudorf spindles and Yamauchi spinning aprons. F&T’s diverse lines also include numerous products for modern weaving machines, long-staple spinning, synthetic fiber production and nonwovens.
The acquisition has been smooth and seamless, Thomas said. A key reason, he said: He brought aboard longtime Feil & Davidson representatives Bill Boozer and David Boaz as territory managers.
“Truthfully, if they weren’t part of the deal, I wouldn’t have done it because they brought a lot of expertise with them,” Thomas said. “The relationships these guys have are important.”
A big challenge with the Feil & Davidson deal, he added, is predicting inventory needs well in advance. One product line from Feil & Davidson is made in Malaysia and it takes five months for an order to be fulfilled, Thomas said.
“We’re trying to figure out months in advance what our customers are going to need and what they’re going to buy,” he said. “We get four huge boxes in every month by sea. If there’s an emergency, we bring them in by air.
“But we’re not afraid of inventory,” he added. “We have a lot of inventory. We just rented a new 8,000 square foot warehouse across the street, where we store mainly the Feil & Davidson inventory.”
Diversifying
Since founding Thomas Machinery Co. in 1971, Thomas said he has always been on the lookout for opportunities. Most notable for textiles was the merger with then-40-year-old company Ernest L. Frankl Co. in 1986 and the purchase of Hurley & Harrison in 2007.
“When you can buy an existing, going concern, it adds a lot of value,” Thomas said.
For years, the biggest area of concentration for Frankl & Thomas was synthetic fibers. And, though the weaving area now represents the largest division, the manmade fibers area remains a big part of the business. The company has represented Japan-based Nippon Nozzle since 1971 and continues to be the largest distributor of that company’s spinnerets.
“From 1960 to 1990, the synthetic fiber business was very dynamic and expanding,” Thomas said. “It’s contracted quite a bit since then, so we’re glad to be able to diversify.”
Today, the weaving division has grown into the company’s biggest area thanks in large part to Mike Alexander, who was hired to start the division in 1997 to tap into that market.
“It probably took a year to get it going because nobody knew Frankl & Thomas on the weaving side,” said Alexander, vice president and general manager. “We’ve developed good relationships over the last 15 years and we continue to do business with them. And we see something of an uptick, particularly on the carpet side. Business is strong. People who have found a niche seem to be doing really well.”
Which bodes well for Frankl & Thomas going forward, Thomas said, in weaving and other areas.
“It’s a pretty exciting business to be in,” he said.