Darley Acquires Fireboy, Inc
W.S. Darley & Co. informs it has purchased the assets of Fireboy, Xintex and Aetna Engineering based in Grand Rapids, Mich., forming the new company Fireboy-Xintex, LLC.
W.S. Darley & Co., headquartered in Itasca, Ill., has served the world’s fire and emergency services industry since 1908. The company has manufacturing, engineering and research and development operations are in Chippewa Falls, Wisc. and Janesville, Iowa.
Founded in 1973, Fireboy is a developer of marine pre-engineered and custom engineered fire safety and suppression equipment. Xintex is a producer of gas and fire detection equipment. Aetna engineering specializes in digital instruments like tachometers. The company also has manufacturing operations in Poole, England.
With more than one million systems in service and roughly 75 percent of the recreational marine market, Fireboy suppression systems are well known in the marine markets. Fireboy-Xintex also serves defense, commercial, industrial, truck, bus, rail and other markets.
Fireboy’s CEO Larry Akins, who will stay on with the company as an owner for up to five years through the transition process, said, “The feeling was just right with the Darleys: our core values are very much the same and our management styles mirror one another.”
Paul C. Darley, CEO of W.S. Darley & Co., said, “It is our fourth acquisition in the last 20 years and is by far the largest. Our two companies are completely aligned from a cultural aspect and we have overlapping customers in the marine and defense markets. The electronics engineering and manufacturing capabilities will enhance our position in the fire service.”
Aside from the name change from Fireboy-Xintex, Inc. to Fireboy-Xintex LLC, the company said its management team, operations, manufacturing and all product models and numbers will remain unchanged.
