February 26, 2010
Dear :
I'm writing with important news:
Koch Filter Corporation has been
acquired by Tomkins.
After a great deal of strategizing over the past year, Joe Koch, John
Koch and I know this is a great fit for our customers, for our employees, for
Koch Filter Corporation, and for our family. Here are some key points I want to emphasize:
Koch Filter will be a stand-alone entity, operating
as Koch Filter Corporation. We're
evolving, but in many ways we're staying the same: Same people, same logo, same quality products, same Customer
Service reps, same sales force, same voices answering the phones when you
call. What is
changing is that Koch Filter is going to become the first component of a new Filtration
/ Indoor Air Quality division within Tomkins' Building Products Group. This will enable us to increase our
product offering and introduce new products at a faster pace - and that means
more potential sales for our distributors. David Koch will be President of Koch Filter and
John Koch will be the Executive Vice-President. Joe Koch will remain on board in a consulting role. All of our long-time Koch Filter veterans will
continue to do exactly what they've always done - make Koch Filter a better
company and work to support our customers in the field. In fact, other than Joe Koch stepping
into his consulting role, we have no personnel changes planned as a result of
the acquisition. Koch Filter's Corporate Headquarters and
Manufacturing Plant will remain in Louisville, Kentucky as it has since 1966. Our manufacturing plants in Houston,
TX, Rancho Cucamonga, CA, and East Greenville, PA will continue to grow in
their current locations.
Koch Filter Corporation has thrived as a family-held company for over 44
years so the inevitable question is why change,
why become part of Tomkins?
The answer: Those of you
who know us personally know Koch Filter is my family's life's work. You can be confident that we wouldn't
make the decision to join forces with Tomkins unless we knew it would make us a
better, faster and more capable supplier to our customers. This is a terrific strategic fit for
Koch Filter, for Tomkins, for our customers, and for our employees. All of us are aware of the potential
pitfalls of "going corporate". With
Tomkins' support, we've mapped out every step going forward to make sure we never
forget that it's our customers who come
first - always have and always will.
Thanks to our customers over the past four decades, we've grown Koch
Filter into a world-class manufacturer of air filtration products. Teaming with Tomkins, a company with
presence in markets across the world and loaded with engineering talent, will
enable us to take Koch Filter to the next level...a level that would be difficult
to achieve as a privately-held company.
We will be
able to introduce new products at a faster pace. We'll have the capability to open additional plants similar
to our Houston, Rancho and East Greenville facilities more rapidly. And Tomkins' tremendous engineering
expertise will enable us to improve our manufacturing efficiencies - and that
translates into Koch Filter becoming a better supplier to our customers.
Who is Tomkins? We have been
associated with the people at Tomkins and the companies they operate for several
years. We're a long-time supplier
to some of those companies and we know the Tomkins people to be top-notch
professionals in every facet of their businesses. They do things well, they do them quickly, and most
importantly, they do things the right way.
Tomkins is a leading global engineering and machinery company with
strong market positions and technical leadership across two business groups: Building
Products and Industrial/Automotive.
The company has manufacturing plants around the world, offices in Dallas
and Denver and owns several companies in the HVAC and air distribution
industries, including Ruskin, Krueger, Titus, Hart & Cooley and PennBarry
among others. Koch Filter will
become Tomkins first entrée into the air filtration market and will be the
platform for a new Filtration/Indoor Air Quality division. The
strategy has excellent potential for Koch, but more importantly it holds great
promise for our customers. John
and I are excited to be leading the charge.
Change always brings questions; John Koch and I are here to answer any that you have. Please don't hesitate to call or email
us at any time.
I look forward to working with you as we move forward and grow in the
next phase of our business.
Sincerely,
David Koch
President
Koch Filter Corporation
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