L.A. Wire Maker Acquired By Canadian Rival.

Industrial Wire Products Corp. of Los Angeles has been acquired by Tree Island Industries Inc. of Canada for an undisclosed price, creating the second-largest wire manufacturer on the West Coast.

Fifty-eight-year-old Industrial Wire - with $60 million in annual revenues - will continue to operate its 250-employee business autonomously at plants in Los Angeles, Pomona and Rancho Cucamonga.

"It's an excellent strategic fit for both companies," said Lindsey Alley, senior vice president of mergers and acquisitions for Houlihan Lokey Howard & Zukin, the L.A. investment bank that represented the seller. "It solidifies the strength of the company on the West Coast."

Industrialist Marshall Bull, who bought Industrial Wire in 1978 and oversaw much of its expansion, will join Tree Island's board. But he no longer retains any equity in the company, and will not hold any operational post.

The deal not only expands the parent company's product line, but its marketing and sales territory.

Both companies make carbon-steel wire used to make such products as shopping carts, coat hangers and rebar. But Industrial Wire also makes stainless-steel wire products such as the springs used in aerosol bottles and lashing wire to hold telecommunications cable to telephone poles.

The low wholesale and retail value of carbon steel had made it cost prohibitive for Tree Island to ship its products farther east than Denver. But with the acquisition of Industrial Wire's pricier stainless-steel line, Tree Island will now be able to profitably ship nationwide.

"We've recognized for a long time that IWP is a very high-quality producer of wire and wire products," said Bradley Seaman, managing director of Vancouver-based Tricor Pacific Capital Inc., a private equity group that owns Tree Island. "We did compete in certain product lines, and they are a terrific competitor."

Tree Island, formed 35 years ago, now has a West Coast operation second in size only to Irwindale-based Davis Wire Corp.

Industrial Wire began as a small wire-cloth and wire-mesh operation in San Francisco in 1943. In 1948, it closed down the plant and moved into a 30,000-square-foot facility in Los Angeles. A decade of steady growth prompted the company to move its operations to its present L.A. plant, which is three times larger than the pre-existing one.