Schlegel International

Charles P. Schlegel[lower-alpha 1] and Henry A. Schaefer founded a narrow loom weaving business in Rochester, New York, United States, in the late 1880s. Schlegel Manufacturing was first located on North Water Street, soon after moved to Canal Street and finally moved to the corner of Goodman Street and College Avenue.[2] The company at first made hem bindings for women's skirts to protect them when dragging on the ground, then diversified into "surrey fringes" for horse-drawn buggies.[3] For many years the company advertised its product line as "carriage, basket and dress trimmings". The company moved into supplying textile trimmings to car manufacturers, and became a specialist in automobile door and window weather seals.[2] Schlegel Canada Inc. was established in 1931.[4]

During World War II (1939–1945) the company tore down and redesigned its looms so they could make machine gun belts. There were many technical difficulties, including specification changes, but full production began by the summer of 1943. The company produced six million belts for .30 and .50 caliber machine gun bullets, then converted to making gun slings.[5]

After the war the company expanded into making seals for all types of doors and windows.[2] Schlegel started to make pile weatherstripping and plastic profiles for the building industry.[3] In 1956 the president of Schlegel Manufacturing Company was Carl F. Schlegel, and the Vice President, Research was Norman C. Schlegel. The company's laboratory was investigating industrial textiles, plastics and adhesives.[6] In the 1960s Schlegel introduced a continuous molded urethane process for foam weatherstripping.[3] As of 1973 Schlegel Manufacturing, based in Rochester, New York, was supplying rigid vinyl strips for weathersealing doors.[7] In 1973 it was announced that Schlegel Illinois. Inc., a subsidiary, had introduced a closed-cell sponge rubber gasket for drums.[8]

As of 1981 Schlegel had become a major conglomerate, still with its headquarters in Rochester, with one of its main factories in Henrietta, New York.[2] By 1986 Schlegel Corporation of Rochester, New York, had 22 marketing centers worldwide, including Schlegel Technology Pte Ltd in Singapore and Schlegel Pty Ltd in Australia.[9] In 1988 Schlegel had manufacturing facilities in twelve countries.[10] Schlegel Corporation made automobile and building products in Europe through its subsidiaries Schlegel UK and Schlegel GmbH.[11] Schlegel UK had two separate operating divisions for Automotive and Building products. Ford and Rover accounted for about two-thirds of the Automotive product's sales.[10] By the late 1980s the company was in difficulty. Schlegel UK had signed a contract with Rover that required it to make a "sprayed-on slip coat" window seal, and had difficulty with the unfamiliar technology. The factory building required extensive repairs. The company was offered for sale.[12] Prospective buyers included BTR Plc, Draftex, Pirelli/Metzler, Diversitech, Standard Products and Continental AG.[12]

The UK-based BTR plc purchased Schlegel Corporation in late 1988 through a subsidiary.[10] BTR Dunlop, a wholly owned US-based subsidiary of BTR plc, was the purchaser.[11] After the purchase, BTR decided to transfer the Schlegel UK and Schlegel GmbH subsidiaries from Schlegel Corporation to itself.[10] There was some controversy over how the transfer should be valued for tax purposes, with the company valuing the Schlegel UK and Schlegel GmbH subsidiaries at $21,846,000 and $9,400,000, while the Internal Revenue Service valued them at $49,069,000 and $13,246,000.[11]

In 1990 Schlegel Corporation purchased a 600,000 square feet (56,000 m²) rubber facility built in 1937 in Keokuk, Iowa, from United Technologies Corporation. In 1995 BTR rebranded the product line to BTR Sealing Systems.[13] In 1993 the UK subsidiary reported that it was upgrading to infrared ovens to bond the low-friction coating to its car window seals, reducing time and energy used in the process.[14] In July 1995 it was announced that BTR, parent of US-based Schlegel Corporation and manufacturer of automotive component businesses such as Metzeler and Dunlop, was establishing a joint venture in New Delhi, India. Wadco-Schlegel would make automotive body and glass channel seals for Indian vehicle manufacturers. At this time BTR made about 18% of its rubber-related sales in the US, mainly through Schlegel and the Stowe Woodward manufacturer of roll coverings and printing blankets.[15]

In November 1997 UniPoly S.A, bought 32 companies from BTR, including the Schlegel Sealing and Shielding Group. The acquisition cost about $867 million.[16] The deal was a management buy-out in which UniPoly Group was formed to take over most of the rubber products business of BTR PLC. As of 2001 its main operations were UniPoly Enerka (conveyor belts), UniPoly Hiflex Netherlands (fluid handling) and UniPoly Schlegel Holdings.[17] In 2001 the banks that had funded the buy-out installed Michael Teacher as chief executive in an effort to turn around the struggling business.[18]

In March 2006 Lupus Capital bought the Schlegel Building Products Division from Unipoly.[19] The acquisition cost Lupus £84 million on a debt free/cash free basis.[20] Lupus Capital is the vehicle for Greg Hutchings. The sale of Schlegel reduced UniPoly debt to close to par.[18] Lupus Capital plc changed its name to Tyman plc in February 2013.[21] In February 2014 Schlegel International completed acquisition of Vedasil, a Brazilian manufacturer of pile weatherseals.[22]