Lewis-Goetz and Company, Inc. has been built through a series of acquisitions. It is not surprising, then that the roots of the Lewis-Goetz family tree travel in many directions.
In 1935, the Boston Woven Hose & Rubber Company of Pittsburgh was founded by Ben Gooding, Sr. The company would later establish a Chicago branch and by the early 1950's change the company name to Gooding Rubber Company.
By 1982, however, the Pittsburgh and Chicago divisions had split. The Pittsburgh based Gooding Rubber Company at that time was made up of two locations, Pittsburgh and Beckley, WV and was dedicated to serving the steel and coal industries of the region. It was at this time that Ben Gooding, Jr. sold the Pittsburgh Company to Andy Lewis and Dave Goetz.
In an attempt to diversify geographies and industrial markets the Company embarked on a series of acquisitions starting in 1985 with the purchase of the Richmond Rubber Company. By the time the Company changed its name to Lewis-Goetz in the early 1990's it had completed 4 acquisitions and the consolidation of the North American industrial rubber distribution market was well underway.
By 2002 the Company had grown into one of Industrial Distribution's Top 100 companies, had completed 10 acquisitions and had 20 locations from Chicago, east to Philadelphia and south to Florida.
Meanwhile, as Ben Gooding, Sr. was establishing his fledgling rubber distribution company in Pittsburgh, Goodall Rubber Company, having begun operations in 1870, had already been in business for 65 years and was well on its way to establishing itself as one of the most important manufacturers and distributors of industrial rubber products in the 20th Century.
By the early part of the 21st Century, however, the Company had changed. It had largely divested or closed its manufacturing operations and despite significant acquisitions in Canada had just concluded a significant series of distribution facility rationalizations in the U.S.
Goodall's parent company, Trelleborg of Sweden, wanting to focus its energy and resources on building its global manufacturing base decided to seek strategic buyers for this North American distribution business. In May, 2006 the acquisition of the assets of Goodall Rubber Company was completed and the largest North American industrial rubber distribution business had grown to more than 50 locations throughout North America.
Subsequently, in 2007 Lewis-Goetz bought Samson Industrial, a company built through the consolidation of many former Rubber and Gasket Company operations whose individual histories and stories are as varied as the industry itself.
Lewis-Goetz's latest acquisition took place in 2008 when they purchased RBH/Mill & Elevator Supply, Inc. and RBH/Industrial, Inc. a provider of industrial supplies to the agricultural and industrial markets of the Midwest. This acquisition provided Lewis-Goetz access to growing agricultural markets in Kansas, Nebraska and Iowa, as well as product line expansion.
Today, Lewis-Goetz continues to look for ways to consolidate what remains a very fragmented industry. The Company's size and scale has afforded us the resources to invest in people, quality processes and systems. This ensures that we can provide consistent, reliable, high quality products and services to North American industry, whether that is to support a single local customer or the largest multinational corporations with facilities throughout the continent.