GRAND RAPIDS — Carbide Specialties Inc. of Grand Rapids has been acquired by an Elkhart, Ind.-based tooling company.
The Grand Rapids-based manufacturer of cutting tools for the woodworking industry sold to Riverside Tool Corp. as one of its founders, Paul Lidgard, retires and transitions out of the business.
“We see the market in our field changing a bit and this is an opportunity to advance with Riverside,” Lidgard told MiBiz. “They do some things we don’t do and this will enable us to be able to supply our customers more completely than what we do.”
Lidgard said the acquisition will help the company transition into making more advanced insert tooling, a part of the tool that holds the cutting bit.
Tom Roth, the other cofounder of Carbide Specialties, will remain with the company. The manufacturer will continue to operate from its facility in Grand Rapids, Lidgard said.
Carbide Specialties employs 16 workers and generates annual sales below $5 million.
For Riverside Tool, the decision to acquire Carbide Specialties was driven by the company’s desire to access the Grand Rapids market, said General Manager Ron Midget.
“Grand Rapids is a great market and Riverside has approached it a couple times in the past, but it was hard for us to take care of that market,” Midget said. “With this opportunity, it really made a lot of sense.”
Terms of the deal for Carbide Specialties were not disclosed.
Riverside Tool is owned by Techniks Industries, an industrial tooling manufacturer based in Indianapolis.
