Schutt Sports reconditioning plant under new ownership
The former Schutt Sports reconditioning facility in Palmer Township that closed abruptly about two years ago to outsource worktoMexicohasanewowner.
Congdon Investments LLC purchased nearly 7 acres, including an 88,320-square-foot building at 8 McFadden Road for nearly $4.9 million, according to Northampton County property records. CADCoDistribution had been leasing the building before the property changed hands Sept. 30, according to Matt Macdonald, vice president of Markward GroupofUpperMacungieTownship.
CADCo stands for Congdon Associates Distribution Co., whichwasstarted in 1984 by Tim Congdon, who sold farm equipment out of his home in Hunterdon County, New Jersey. The business has evolved to include sales to dealers of lawn and other outdoor-power equipment, he said earlier this week.
Congdon, of Bethlehem, said the companylater movedoutside
Phillipsburg in Warren County but eventually outgrew its space. He said the McFadden Road property was attractive not only for its size andproximity to Route 33 and nearby interstates, but it is close enough to retain employees. The company has between 25 and 30 workers, including salespeople.
CADCo’sbusiness extends into 15 states from Maine to North Carolina, according to Congdon and Macdonald, who represented the seller, Abeshaus Trust.
The trust includes Alan Abeshaus, former CEO of Circle System, who in 2013 pleaded guilty in connection with overcharging schools and universities for reconditioning sports gear. Other officials werecharged with mail and wire fraud by federal authorities. Abeshauswas sentenced to three years’ probation.
According to a 2011 federal indictment, Circle System sold andreconditioned athletic equipment, uniforms and apparel, mostly to schools, colleges and youth sports programs in New Jersey. At one time, more than 300,000 football helmets came through the plant each year to be reconditioned.
As for Schutt, a Litchfield, Illinois, company that develops football, baseball and softball equipment, it came to the Lehigh Valley in 2005 when it bought Circle System. But Schutt officials abruptly closed the Palmer facility during the summer of 2018, after multiple employees told TheMorningCall the company was shifting work to Mexico. The move affected about 200 workers, including 145 seasonal employees and 50 full-time positions.
In some ways, the move to close the Palmer plant and outsource some work to Mexico was just Schutt’s catching up to competitor Riddell. In 2010, Riddell relocated some of its helmetreconditioning workfrom San Antonio, Texas, to a facility in Monterrey, Mexico, a move that affected 75 workers.