08/09/2018

Shawmut Completes Integration of Glen Raven Technical Fabrics’ Automotive Headliner and Specialty Industrial Fabrics Business (8/9/18)

Shawmut Corporation, a global leader in material lamination for the automotive industry, has completed its integration of Glen Raven Technical Fabrics’ specialty industrial fabrics business. The move fully integrates Shawmut’s market-leading composite development capabilities and global lamination platform with Glen Raven’s world-class specialty industrial fabrics operation. The merger was first announced in June. “The combination of Glen Raven’s automotive headliner and specialty industrial fabrics business with Shawmut’s world-class material lamination platform is extremely powerful,” said James Wyner, CEO of Shawmut. “The unified structure adds tremendous strength to our long-standing partnership and underscores our solutions-driven value proposition.” The newly merged organization is majority-owned by Shawmut, a family-owned company headquartered in West Bridgewater, Mass., with Glen Raven as the minority owner. Wyner leads the new organization, which will be jointly governed by a three-member Board of Managers. Harold Hill, president of Glen Raven Technical Fabrics, an operating division of Glen Raven, Inc., serves as Glen Raven’s representative on the Board. “This is truly a milestone,” Hill said. “It’s not often that two family-owned companies with 240 years of combined experience start a new business together. We have the opportunity to completely redefine the standards for quality, design and technical support in our industry. We’re excited to continue our commitment to creating innovative solutions for our customers in this dynamic marketplace.” The combined entity includes all existing Shawmut locations along with Glen Raven’s Park Avenue manufacturing operation and its associated specialty industrial fabric product lines. Those products include fabrics for automotive headliner, ultra-lightweight camouflage and netting systems, military apparel, and reverse osmosis filtration applications. The resulting business employs nearly 700 people in six different countries, and includes production facilities in the U.S., Mexico, Czech Republic and China, as well as commercial and technical support offices in the U.S., Germany, China and Japan.