IPEG Inc., the parent company of Conair Group and Rapid Granulator, acquired the assets of Thermal Care Inc., a manufacturer of temperature controllers, chillers, cooling towers and pump tanks used in heat-transfer applications in plastics processing and other industries. The deal is expected to close April 30 according to IPEG CEO Chris Keller.

According to Keller, Thermal Care will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of IPEG, Cranberry Township, Pa., maintaining business offices and manufacturing operations at its existing Niles, Ill., location. It will operate independently of Conair and Rapid but will share resources and technology.

Steve Buck, president of Thermal Care, will assume other responsibilities with MFRI, but other staff is expected to remain. Tom Benson, a 25-year employee and current vice president of sales and marketing for Thermal Care will be named president.

“This acquisition is consistent with IPEG’s multi-brand, multi-channel strategy aimed at providing customers with products and services of exceptional quality and performance,” Keller says. “It’s an investment that will strengthen both Thermal Care and Conair and, ultimately, benefit plastics processors through the development of innovative new technology and a broader range of choices in heat-transfer equipment.”

Although Conair and Thermal Care will continue to market products independently, the sister companies will be able to draw on their combined application experience and pooled engineering resources to make major advances in technology development. “Together, our two companies have over 20 full-time engineers dedicated to heat transfer,” notes Larry Doyle, President of Conair. “And that doesn’t even include systems and applications engineering staff. When it comes to developing new technology, we will have resources and overall engineering horsepower far greater than either company has alone.”

This is the second IPEG acquisition in less than a month. On April 15, the company announced the purchase of Republic Machine, Louisville, Ky., a leader in the design and manufacturing of single-shaft shredding machinery used in recycling of plastics and other materials.