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By: Mary Merda
Website: http://www.lamps-n-lighting.com
Divcom Lighting Inc. of Pointe Claire continued
its acquisition streak, snapping up two more North
American high end lighting manufacturers makers
of indoor and outdoor lighting.
The firm, which makes high end indoor and outdoor
lighting, said yesterday it signed letters of
intent to acquire Dinico Products Inc. of New
Jersey and Environmental Lighting Inc. of Toronto.
The two purchases follow on the heels of several
acquisitions last year.
Dinico makes high end outdoor residential and
commercial lighting. Environmental Lighting designs
and manufactures energy-efficient lighting for
hotels.
Combined revenues of the two companies were about
$4.3 million in 2003, Divcom said in a statement.
Revenues for Divcom for the 11-month-period ended
November 30, 2003, were $4.6 million. If subsidiaries
acquired last year are included, those revenues
would have been $14.4 million.
Divcom president and CEO Aslam Khatri said acquiring
Dinico will allow Divcom to "piggyback"
onto its U.S. sales channels, Khatri said. About
40 per cent of Divcom's sales are in the U.S.,
a figure Khatri would like to increase.
Dinico's manufacturing will be moved to Canada,
but assembly will remain in New Jersey. "We
prefer to pay Canadian hydro and Canadian rent
and Canadian dollars," Khatri said. "But
our market is really in the U.S."
Divcom tries to keep final assembly work in the
U.S. to show a "made in the USA" face
to consumers, Khatri said.
Divcom has its head office in Pointe Claire and
operates plants in St. Léonard and St.
Hyacinthe.
It employs 165. That number will jump to 200
if the two purchases announced yesterday go through.
The bulk of those employees are in Canada. Divcom
also has a large network of U.S. sales agents
working on commission.
Khatri, who helped grow another small Montreal
lighting firm, Kaufel Group Ltd., into an international
player, hopes to do the same with Divcom.
He said the lighting industry in North America
is still fragmented, with lots of "mom and
pop" companies with manufacturing expertise
but a lack of cash to expand.
Khatri's family bought Divcom's predecessor,
Diversified Lighting Ltd., in 1999. His son and
wife now work with him. The family owns one-third
of Divcom, with the rest held by outside shareholders.
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