Finzer Roller and Imperial Rubber Products Announce Alliance

Imperial Rubber Products, which manufactures and reconditions rollers for industrial converters, manufacturers and commercial printers, and Finzer Roller, a leading one-stop resource for rubber rollers and specialty coatings, including steel roller cores, replacement rubber coverings and peripheral products, today announced that they have entered into a strategic alliance to serve customers nationally.

Major elements of the strategic alliance agreement include the companies agreeing to:

1. Jointly offer broad geographic coverage and unified support to customers with national operations
2. Distribute proprietary products manufactured by each other to customers
3. Share technologies and best practices in manufacturing and operations
4. Collaborate on development of new products

Also as part of the agreement, Finzer Roller has made a strategic investment in Imperial Rubber Products and acquired a minority share of ownership in the company.

While the companies will collaborate on a broad array of matters, the companies remain separate entities and neither company will play a role in management of the other.

"Finzer Roller operates primarily in the Midwest and Eastern U.S. and Canada," commented John Finzer, CEO of Finzer Roller. "As many of our customers have operations beyond those regions we have been looking for a partner in the West to help us offer broader geographic coverage across North America."

Mr. Finzer continued, "We evaluated many roller companies and decided that Imperial Rubber Products was the best choice for us. We based our decision on the strength of their operation on a broad range of criteria including customer satisfaction, new product innovation, financial strength and management capability."

Ron Hill, President and CEO of Imperial commented, "Our company has had a friendly relationship with Finzer Roller for many years. The high caliber of their people and their focus on customer satisfaction, quality products, ethical dealings, and profitability matches our operating philosophy."

Mr. Hill added, "This is another step in an on-going process at Imperial of expanding our capabilities to better serve customers. Finzer Roller has a tremendous range of specialized products and unique manufacturing solutions, which we look forward to sharing with our customers."

Mr. Hill further explained that both companies focus on serving customers with demanding applications, including a broad range of industrial and graphic arts industries, noting that both companies are members and supporters of AIMCAL (the international Association of Industrial Metallizers, Coaters and Laminators).