Paperchine, JohnsonFoils Merge

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AstenJohnson, Charleston, S.C., USA, has acquired Paperchine, Rockton, Ill., and reports that it has begun the process of merging the engineering and equipment company with JohnsonFoils, an equipment division of AstenJohnson. The new company will be called Paperchine and will be based in Rockton. Laurie Wicks, currently president of Paperchine, will lead the new company.

Paperchine was founded in 2000 by four former Beloit Corp. employees. The company serves the paper industry with engineering, technical support, and paper machine products. Paperchine primarily serves the North American paper industry.

JohnsonFoils was started by the former JWI Group in 1963 to complement its offering of paper machine clothing and specialty fabrics products. The North American paper industry is a primary focus for the company, but it also serves the European and Asian paper industries.

"This is an ideal merger for our customers," says Dan Cappell, president and CEO of AstenJohnson. "We are combining the expertise of two well established equipment companies into one organization that can offer the paper industry proven rebuilds down the entire paper machine. At the same time, we will continue to offer the JohnsonFoils product line. We have collaborated with Paperchine in the past, so this will be a natural fit in terms of culture, products and people."

Laurie Wicks adds that "this merger gives the paper industry not just another choice, but a well- known choice that offers proven capabilities in machine rebuilds and superior service from experienced machine builders and papermakers. Both companies have experienced significant growth over the years, so together we expect to be a more viable option for papermakers."

In addition to the office in Rockton, the new company will have engineering, manufacturing, and customer service sites in Springfield, Mass. USA, Montreal, Que., Canada, Chicopee, Mass., USA, Vancouver, B.C., Canada, and Thailand.

Filling other key positions will be Vaughn Wildfong, sales and technology, Dan Morris, operations, and Larry Voss, finance, accounting, and purchasing.