Alexander-JBRO combo forms Lexstar Technologies

May 1, 2002 12:00 PM, Don Bishop

Alexander Technologies and JBRO Batteries have merged to form Lexstar Technologies, Lisle, IL. Alexander, a company with 150 employees, had an estimated $38 million in sales in 1995. JBRO, a company with 83 employees, had an estimated $29 million in sales in 1998. Although no recent sales figures are available, a company official said that current revenues for both companies are somewhat less.

W.R. “Bill” Hennig, who was named Lexstar's president, had been president and chief executive of Alexander since leaving a similar post in 1999 with Dallas-based A.O. Smith's Water Products Division for what he described as an opportunity to grow Alexander's business.

“We were working on an acquisition strategy last year, but private equity funding dried up after Sept. 11,” Hennig said. “Instead, we decided on a merger. Lexstar can grow more quickly than Alexander and JBRO could grow separately.”

Based in Mason City, IA, Alexander made batteries, chargers and conditioners for the electronics, medical, security, scanner and military markets. Based in Lisle, IL, JBRO made battery packs for camcorders and two-way radios and had established the Telepower brand of retail products. These products now belong to Lexstar. The unified product lines may improve Lexstar's ability to serve aftermarket buyers and to serve OEM customers compared to the separate companies.

Lexstar's executives said that JBRO's value-added reseller status with Hawker Energy, a supplier of starved electrolyte, sealed lead-acid batteries, would strengthen Alexander's successful medical line; and JBRO's large customer base would benefit from the addition of Alexander's chargers and analyzers.

Hennig said that he expected that the merger would not necessarily change the number of employees, but in eliminating duplicated functions, the location of employment might change.

He said that Lexstar intends to keep the same manufacturer's representatives that have been representing Alexander and JBRO individually. “They are our partners in the marktplace. We will continue with that arrangement. We want to use all the resources available,” Hennig said.