3M acquires IPT

3M Company announced yesterday that it will acquire Innovative Paper Technologies, LLC, (IPT), which employs 58 people here, along with its sister company, Powell, LLC of Haverhill, Massachusetts, in a transaction expected to close in May. Both companies are owned by OS Partners, LLC, a holding company, headquartered in Boulder, Colorado. The terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Since the late 1970s IPT, formerly Quin—T, has developed and manufactured more than 300 inorganic paper products engineered for diverse industrial applications at temperatures ranging from below zero to more than 250 degrees centigrade, including electrical insulation for motors, generators and transformers and flame barriers in household appliances. Joe LaPlante, vice-president of operations at IPT, said that the company's annual sales are about $15-million.

Powell, LLC produces nonwoven mats, tapes and membranes used for a variety insulating and filtering applications. IPT is a major customer of Powell.

LaPlante welcomed the acquisition, which he said "positions IPT and Powell for greater, faster growth." He said that IPT would be strengthened by the power of the 3M brand, together with its worldwide marketing network and exceptional research facilities. "It's a very good thing and we're very optimistic," he said. LaPlante anticipated what he called an "integration process" during the next six to nine months, but otherwise expected no major changes in IPT's operations. I believe I can definitively say yes, we will remain in Tilton," he said, explaining that the firm's manufacturing equipment was unique, tailored to its particular processes and products, and difficult to move.

In a prepared statement 3M said that the acquisition would enable the company to enter the flexible insulation materials market to reach manufacturers of motors, transformers, appliances, and wire and cable. IPT and Powell will join 3M's electrical markets division based in Austin, Texas. Paul D. Steece, vice-president of the division, said that "the addition of these businesses will help us broaden our core product offering, as well as expand into adjacent markets."