YKK AP America Inc. has acquired a Canadian firm that will help the Austell, Ga.-based company meet growing demand for its prefabricated building products.
The move to buy Erie Architectural Products Group, a privately-owned company still run by its founders in Lakeshore, Ontario, comes as builders are facing labor shortages and time crunches, boosting demand for elements that are made in advance and can be quickly installed on site.
“As we looked to the future of our business, it was clear that we needed to grow our offering for prefabricated, pre-assembled products. By bringing Erie AP under the YKK AP umbrella, we are making a progressive move to meet what we see as a growing market demand for unitized products,” said Oliver Stepe, YKK AP America Inc.’s president, in a news release.
Erie focuses on gleaming glass facades, providing a variety of engineering and technical support services to builders, designers and glazing contractors.
YKK AP, which offers a broader portfolio, has been a supplier to Erie for a decade. With trust built over time Erie’s leaders saw YKK AP as “the only partner” to take the company into the future. Ron Stronks, who founded the company with his wife in 1981 and runs the business with his sons, will stay on as president after the acquisition, YKK AP said.
The acquisition includes the Canadian headquarters and factory, which has 250 employees. That brings YKK AP’s North American headcount to more than 1,000 people. The company operates plants in Dublin and Macon, Ga., as well as in Cincinnati and Dallas.
YKK AP America falls under the umbrella of YKK Corp. of America, the Marietta-based subsidiary of the Japanese zippier and architectural products giant. YKK was one of the earliest Japanese investors in Georgia and remains an active corporate citizen.
