Brady Corp. Acquires Clement Communications

Officials at Brady Corp., a Milwaukee-based manufacturer/marketer of industrial signage, security, and safety products, believe they have found a perfect complement in the company’s latest acquisition: Clement Communications, a Concordville, PA-based direct marketer of safety-related posters and newsletters. Terms of the deal, announced Feb. 1, were not disclosed. Clement had sales of $12 million last year.

“Several things about Clement were attractive to Brady,” says Tom Felmer, president of Brady Direct Marketing Americas. “The company has been around since 1919; there is staying power in a brand/business like that. As a marketer of employee communication programs, Clement gives us additional customer access for other products we already sell through Seton, EMED, and Personnel Concepts.”

Sales for Brady Corp. soared past the $1 billion mark in 2006, up nearly 25% from 2005. The company posted net income of $104.2 million. Its product line includes high-performance labels and signs, safety devices, and precision die-cut materials. The company has more than 500,000 customers in industries such as electronics, telecommunications, manufacturing, electrical, construction, education, and medical.

Felmer says the plan is to continue Clement Communications’ operations in Concordville. “Clement has a great team of professionals already in place,” he says. “We will seek to share marketing and selling resources whenever that makes sense, and we are already looking at adding Clement products to several of our other businesses…Clement helps Brady communicate with and reach human resource professionals in addition to our existing strength with safety professionals. Their subscription-based products are a great business model.”

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