Tiffin Metal Products, Steele Solutions merge

TIFFIN — Tiffin Metal Products, 450 Wall St., and Steele Solutions Inc. of Franklin, Wisconsin, have merged into one company. The merger was finalized Friday with each part of the merged company retaining its own name and locations. "I've known the president of Steele Solutions as part of an industry group that we're both in," said Matt Dysard, president of Tiffin Metal Products. "We started talking about it, and we became serious of few months ago. "Merging with SSI is a perfect fit for our mission and will take our Tiffin, Ohio, company to the next level," Dysard said. "It made business sense for both of us. "Both companies will operate under their own names because we both have very good names in the industry," he said. "TMP experienced tremendous growth in 2021, and combining SSI and TMP is a great catalyst for continued growth and benefits for our employees and customers." Dysard said the two companies were not in competition, but their products complemented one another. SSI is a leader in the design and manufacturing of complex work platform solutions for distribution facilities and TMP is a leader in custom chute systems for distribution and manufacturing facilities. "We make chutes to bring things down and they make mezzanines to take stuff up," he said. "We kind of joke, what goes up must come back down." Combined, the new company offers both aspects to its customers. "Tiffin Metal Products is a perfect partner to our current portfolio of offerings as we both provide unique and complementary products that are the backbone of e-commerce fulfillment, distribution and parcel sortation facilities," said Kevin O'Neill, CEO of Steele Solutions Inc., in a news release from Tiffin-Seneca Economic Partnership announcing the merger. "The merger will result in a broader and more diverse product offering that will make for a more integrated solution and faster installation for our customers. Companies will continue to operate as-is, working in their existing facilities and staff. However, the combined customer base is expected to drive continued growth across both SSI and TMP facilities." The merger is the latest development in a period of growth for Tiffin Metal Products, including "significant" sales growth since 2019. In 2021, the company expanded its Tiffin manufacturing facility by 74,000 square feet to add warehouse space and areas for shipping and receiving. Also in 2021, TMP opened its first European location in Schmitten, Switzerland. Dysard said TMP decided to open a plant in Europe because the European customers liked the products but didn't feel like they could wait for the manufacture and travel time for products being shipped from Tiffin. "Almost all of this growth has been the e-commerce market," he said. "We wanted to participate in the European e-commerce boom, but we would have to be there to do it." He said the company looked at options for a long time. "After months of exhaustive searching, we determined that while Switzerland is expensive, it's the most like doing business in America," he said. Dysard said there are no immediate plans for more expansion, but the company is "actively looking at places farther west in America." He said TMP serves all of North America from the Tiffin plant, and another one would provide more capacity. Today, Dysard said the company employs about 170 people in Tiffin and about 25 people in Switzerland. "It's been a complete honor and privilege working with our dedicated employees," Dysard said. "I look forward to staying on as the president of TMP and continuing this trajectory towards greatness together."