Skidmore Purchases Essex Grain Products

Skidmore Sales and Distributing Company, Inc. of Cincinnati, Ohio, announced that it has completed the purchase of Essex Grain Products, Inc., based in Frazer, Pennsylvania. Both companies are leading distributors of food ingredients to the food processing, flavors, and health and nutritional industries. Skidmore operates from eight distribution centers located throughout the Midwest. Essex operates from three distribution centers in Frazer, Newark, and Boston that serve the Middle Atlantic and New England markets.

In commenting on the purchase of Essex, Doug Skidmore, President of Skidmore Sales and Distributing stated that "Essex has a great reputation in the industry, and the geographical area it serves complements our territory very nicely." Bill and Alice Bierer, the previous owners of Essex, stated that "We are pleased that Skidmore is offering positions to all of our people, and we feel that Skidmore will continue our tradition of offering excellent service to our broad customer base."

Skidmore plans to manage Essex as a separate operating unit under the Essex name, while offering additional products to Essex customers. Doug Skidmore added that "We want to make our purchase of Essex as seamless as possible to the customers of both companies."

Sampson Associates, Inc., from Minneapolis acted as the financial advisor for Skidmore Sales and Distributing, and Fairmount Partners of West Conshohocken, Pennsylvania acted as the financial advisor for Essex Grain Products.

SOURCE: Skidmore Sales and Distributing Company, Inc.