Wells Mfg. sold for $257.5 million

Wells Manufacturing, a Fond du Lac company in existence since 1902, was sold today for $257.5 million to the Japanese firm NGK NCT Spark Plug Co. Ltd.

The multi-million-dollar sale has an expected closing date of July 1.

The sale was part of the acquisition of UCI Acquisition Holdings Corp., the parent company of UCI International, owner of Wells Manufacturing, L.P. David Peace is the chief executive officer and president of Wells Mfg.

John Zochert, director of marketing and product development, said the company would remain in Fond du Lac, but could not provide more information at this time. He said the company has more than 600 employees throughout several locations. Of those, 250 are at Wells Vehicle Electronics, 385 W. Rolling Meadows Drive.

Inquiries were directed to Keith Zar, spokesman at UCI-FRAM Group.

"As we are the seller, we are excited for the Wells' folks, and we think this is a great opportunity for them," Zar said.

Wells is a U.S. supplier of more than 38,000 parts, including distributor caps and rotors, ignition coils, control modules, sensors, wire and cable sets, emissions components, switches, fuel system components and voltage regulators.

With headquarters in Nagoya, Japan, NGK Spark Plug Co., Ltd., is a ceramics processing manufacturer with 13,000 employees and holds shares globally of spark plugs and automotive sensors for internal combustion engines. They also offer a lineup of packages, cutting tools, bio ceramics and industrial ceramics, according to a press release from the company.

NGK issued the following statement: "Wells is an ideal candidate for our expansion efforts and is a well-known automotive parts manufacturer with more than 100 years of history in the United States. Wells has exposure to the growing segment of vehicle electronics with broad product lines, whose main products include switches, ignition coils and pressure sensors. Wells has built a leading position in the U.S. automotive repair market and is working to increase its sales outside of the U.S. We believe that the combination of the two will create significant synergies, including offering Wells products, in addition to our products, to the global repair market through our strong international sales network that we have built over many years."

According to the company's website, Wells Mfg. was founded "at the dawn of the automotive industry" by Robert Wells, and was a pioneer in the development and assembly of electrical parts for vehicle manufacturers and many of their largest component suppliers. The U.S. Army selected Wells as supplier of the revolutionary Norden bombsight, which played a crucial role in Allied success during World War II.

Following the war, Wells expanded its original equipment engineering and manufacturing operations and, in 1956, introduced the Wells brand to the automotive replacement parts market. Over the next half-century, Wells products became a leading choice of professional technicians and do-it-yourselfers in the automotive, motorcycle, marine, power-sport, commercial vehicle, and lawn and garden markets.

Wells Mfg. sales at fiscal year end, December 2014 were $222 million, with an operating profit of $25 million, the press release stated.

UCI International is a North American company servicing the vehicle replacement parts market.