Last month, Osborne Wood Products announced that it has acquired the assets of Bendix Architectural Products. The purchase includes all products, product lines, name and logo, website, and vendor and customer lists. It’s a development that Leon Osborne, company founder and CEO, feels will position Osborne Wood Products as the market leader in wood moldings.
Osborne started his wood products company in 1979 in his garage with a commitment to manufacturing and supplying the highest quality table legs, hand-carved corbels and furniture feet to the woodworking and architectural industries. In the 37 years that have followed, the company has grown to 30 employees. It manufactures and distributes more than 1,000 different products from its Toccoa, Georgia, headquarters.
The company reports solid growth over its nearly four decades of business, which Osborne credits mostly to “world-class” service. “We’re creative in how we choose to make our customer experience professional, personal and passionate,” Osborne says.
That includes a customer service team who answer incoming calls “on the first ring” and know the product line and availability of each item. Osborne is proud of his company’s same-day shipping policy, and he says that once an order is received by customers, “our customer service team will call them just to check that we have met and exceeded (their) expectations … Even our branded shipping boxes show our commitment to excellence.”
Bendix Architectural Products was founded in Germany in 1924 and has produced decorative corbels, appliques and crown moldings for some 91 years in the U.S. Members of the Bendix family have manufactured hand- and machine-made wood products as far back as 1854. Until this recent acquisition, Bendix was located in Passaic, New Jersey, and previously also in New York.
“I have admired the intricacy of the Bendix line for over 30 years,” Osborne says. He adds that Bendix is world-renowned for its collection of Italian moldings and unique offerings from other geographical locations. “They’ve been dedicated to providing a wide spectrum of quality parts in areas where the market would be lacking except for their presence.”
Bringing Bendix’s catalog into Osborne’s inventory culminated in about 1,300 products, and Leon says there was some overlap that has been combined. The acquisition still adds nearly 800 new products to Osborne’s offerings, allowing it to cover a wider range of moldings, appliques and corbels.
Osborne reports that the acquisition actually came at a pivotal and convenient time for Bendix. Top management there were involved in a “planned retirement” and have been looking for a supplier to continue their customer care going forward. “When they found us, they learned about our core values and company performance. It was a clear match.”
Among Bendix’s assets is its supplier network, which Osborne was eager to acquire. It was important for Osborne that factory owners supplying Bendix products are committed to serving the clientele of both companies. To his satisfaction, “we found an excitement from those suppliers hoping to serve more of the leading builders and architects in the U.S. and Canada.”
And to that end, Osborne Wood Products is determined to provide uninterrupted service to Bendix customers.
Currently, Bendix’s physical assets have been moved to Georgia, but Osborne predicts that it will still be several more weeks before inventory can be stabilized and fully accounted for. Despite the increased product line, Osborne Wood Products is not planning to expand its Toccoa facility. “While expansion seems like a good thing, our first goal is to get the highest quality product to our customers quickly and at the lowest possible cost,” Osborne says.
Even though the acquisition happened just a month ago, Osborne is surprised at how quickly the news has spread within the industry, and he’s certain the change will be positive for all parties concerned in what he considers to be a rapidly growing market. It brings Osborne and Bendix customers a wider variety of immediately available products, which wasn’t possible when the two companies were separate entities.
“I’m very excited to serve the woodworking industry by offering this unique and beautiful line of products,” Osborne says. “We are confident that the Bendix products along with Osborne’s world-class service will benefit the trade.”
To learn more about Osborne and Bendix Wood Products, click here.
