Vancouver’s Cadet Manufacturing sold to Ireland-based company

Cadet Manufacturing's Vancouver headquarters

Cadet Manufacturing, a Vancouver-based heating products company, today announced an agreement to sell the company to Glen Dimplex Group, the world’s largest manufacturer of electrical heating products, for an undisclosed amount. The sale will be effective at closing later this fall.

According to Cadet founder and CEO Dick Anderson, the company will maintain its Vancouver headquarters and employees (109 full-time and 20 part-time). Cadet will retain its name for the foreseeable future and the existing management team will continue to oversee operations.

Anderson
Dick Anderson

“Cadet has been a very important part of my family’s life since founding it 59 years ago,” said Anderson. “I am so pleased to transition ownership to an organization that will continue to make Cadet a great place to work for generations to come.”

Anderson, who will continue with the company in a consulting role, said the decision to sell Cadet was made after consulting his family.

“Anyone who steps into my shoes really has to put the suitcase in the back of the car and not take it out of there, if you will,” he said. “So [my family’s] decision was that it just makes sense to put [the sale] together. This was the right thing to do. There are no losers here. If there is anyone with a tear in their eye, it would probably be me. There is so much to be gained by all the players here.”

Headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, Glen Dimplex Group has business and manufacturing bases throughout Europe, North America, Australia and Asia. The company owns more than 30 companies with upwards of 10,000 employees.

“We are proud to welcome Cadet to the Glen Dimplex family,” said Fergal Naughton, Glen Dimplex CEO, in a press release. “As a group we are focused on putting our employees and customers first, and this emphasis will continue for Cadet.”

Naughton said that by acquiring Cadet, Glen Dimplex can expand its service well beyond its current scope – a point that Anderson agreed with.

“This is definitely a networking and relationship industry,” said Anderson. “Unless you have something special to offer, [people in the industry will ask] ‘why do we need you? We already have lifetime allies we’ve been working with.’ So their only way to get into the U.S. was going to be through a purchase.”

Hutch Johnson
Hutch Johnson

With the acquisition, Cadet’s current president, Hutch Johnson, will be promoted to CEO.

Johnson said that Glen Dimplex prides itself on having a family-oriented culture, and that was a prime consideration in agreeing to sell the company.

“They (Glen Dimplex) really believe in local knowledge in each of the countries they’re in,” he said. “They know that people on the ground understand the business they’re in, and they want to support those local management teams.”

Cadet has experienced a 50 percent sales increase nationally since 2010, including a 16 percent increase in the past year. Johnson said the sale will allow the company to continue growth in the consumer and commercial heating markets.

“With this sale to Glen Dimplex, Vancouver will continue to be home to a great company, our employees can feel secure about their jobs, and our customers can be assured that we will continue to build high-quality products, backed by our exceptional customer service,” he added.

Look for more coverage of Cadet’s sale in this Friday’s edition of the Vancouver Business Journal.

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