Textbook case for plotting growth
Venerable tool maker readies for digital age
Aprofessional t ool, equipment and safety products company, SureWerx may admit to having a long heritage — but it definitely is not old.
The wholesale distributor, recently named one of Canada’s Best Managed Companies, has roots in three centuries. But now, via various mergers, acquisitions and name changes, the Coquitlam, B.C.-based company is poised to be a contender in the North American industrial supply market.
SureWerx is a near- textbook case of how a company can mature from humble roots as supplier of basic industrial material to a provider of tools for 21st- century industry.
The company’s lineage dates to 1890 when Pioneer, one of its acquisitions, set up shop in Vancouver to supply outdoor gear to Klondike prospectors. But its story really began in the 1950s when JET was launched in Seattle and Vancouver by a pair of brothers-in-law to import equipment from postwar Japan. It became a major industrial equipment manufacturer.
When the pair went their separate ways, JET centered in Vancouver and continued to supply tools and equipment to oilfields, fisheries, construction and related industries across the West. Near the end of the last century, JET realized it was more than a business supplying traditional equipment to a single industry and it needed to expand into ancillary businesses. That set it on a growth path that continues today.
In 1997, it extended its r each in Western Canada, buying Strongarm, a 50- year- old firm that supplied hydraulic lifting and shop equipment to the Canadian automotive sector. In 2000, it acquired 39-year-old American Forge and Foundry, which supplies heavyduty and automotive service equipment. That purchase gave JET a foothold in the United States and readied the company for more expansion.
But, because acquisitions needed to fit with the existing business model, it was nine years before JET bought Pioneer.
The JET group is now one of the largest suppliers of specialized work gear in Canada, primarily because it continues to add to its products, including its purchase two years ago of Ontario- based PeakWorks. That company creates safety gear for workers who operate at heights.
However, there was a twist in it’s growth trajectory: In 2012, JET group was acquired by Penfund, Canada’s oldest independent private equity firm. The alliance was a natural fit: Penfund eschews market razzle- dazzle and concentrates on the middle market, which usually means “boring” industries such as auto aftermarket, food processing, waste management and industrial distribution.
With i ts new partner, JET bought Ranpro, an East Coast manufacturer that has been producing protective wear for commercial fishing, agricultural and the oil, gas and utilities markets, since 1860. Most recently, it purchased Chicago- based Sellstrom, a 93- year- old maker of protective eye and face wear.
The name c hange to SureWerx was more than a just a branding exercise, said Chris Baby, president and CEO. JET was being used by another company, so the new moniker signalled his company was modernizing, while retaining the basic credo of its offering — safety, productivity and confidence.
While SureWerx serves traditional industries and has grown from an amalgamation of old companies, the change also signals a leap into modernity.
“We’re getting much more digitally engaged with employees, distributors and the professionals who use our products,” Baby said. “We studied a few of the big digital companies and are implementing some of what we learned to change the way we operate.”
As he noted, many companies in the i ndustries SureWerx serves are still based on older operational methods, but they recognize change is needed. “We have an opportunity here to (help) close a 10- to 15- year gap in two or three years,” he said.
WE’RE GETTING MUCH MORE DIGITALLY ENGAGED.