Orlando Sentinel Article

we have some EXCITING NEWS! Article which appearead in the Orlando Sentinel on Thursday, June 2, 2016

Color Wheel paint family expands new company The family that once owned Color Wheel paint company, which is now owned by Sherwin-Williams, is growing a new company in Orlando -- Florida Paints -- through a recent acquisition.

Florida Paints announced Tuesday that it has acquired Sarasota-based Scott Paint Company from a Maryland company, returning the brand to Florida ownership.

The acquisition includes an 85,000-square-foot manufacturing facility in Sarasota and 17 stores in Florida’s Gulf Coast region, complementing Florida Paints’ existing network of 12 stores in North and Central Florida and its Orlando-based paint plant.

The combined company will be based in Orlando and have about 160 employees.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed; it creates the largest privately owned Florida-based paint manufacturer, with capacity to produce 3 million gallons of paint per year.

“Scott Paint is a perfect fit for Florida Paints,” said Don Strube, Jr., co-founder of Florida Paints. “The company started in 1965, and shares our passion for Florida-tough paint designed specifically for our region’s hot sun, high humidity, and wind-driven rain.”

Florida Paints plans to continue to make and market Scott Paint as it’s own brand under the Florida Paints umbrella.

Both brands will be offered at all 29 stores, along with other specialty brands that Florida Paints currently offers.

The Florida Paints factory, 3521 All American Blvd. in north Orlando, churns out paints sold directly to contractors and in stores.

Color Wheel was founded by the Strube family in Orlando in 1960. It was sold in 2006 to Professional Paint, the U.S. subsidiary of Mexican paint maker Consorcio Comex S.A. de C.V. Sherwin-Williams in 2012 purchased Comex’s U.S./ Canada Business for $160 million.

The Strubes waited seven years after selling Color Wheel to start a new business, after non-compete clauses expired.

They first called their new company SunColor.

“We missed being entrepreneurs,” said Don Strube Jr., the company’s co-founder, told the Sentinel in 2013.

The company also distributes Benjamin Moore Paints, Sto Coatings and Richard’s Paint. Other Central Florida locations include Central Orlando, Oviedo, Winter Garden, St. Cloud and The Villages.

Having sold all their old formulas, the Strubes had to start from scratch. They developed new ways to combine pigment, binder, water and other ingredients to make paint suited to the Florida climate.

The factory also has a laboratory and testing facility where the company paints different surfaces with its own paint, next to competitors’ paints. They are then tested for various conditions, including sun, mildew, abrasion, opacity and dirt pickup.

Don Strube Jr., and his brother Rick, founded SunColor (Now Florida Paints), but it was their father Don Strube Sr. and uncle Charlie Strube, who founded Color Wheel in 1960.

Florida Paints Corporate Offices 3521 All American Blvd. • Orlando, FL 32810 407-293-4175 • PaintFlorida.com

Scott Paint Corporate Offices 7839 Fruitville Rd. • Sarasota, FL 34240 941-379-6428 • ScottPaint.com

we have some EXCITING NEWS! Article which appearead in the Sarasota Herald Tribune on Thursday, June 2, 2016

Scott Paint purchased by ‘friendly competitor’ Scott and new owner Florida Paints compete against big players like Sherwin-Williams and PPG SARASOTA COUNTY — Scott Paint Co., one of the region’s longest-running manufacturing operations, has been sold to an Orlando company in a deal that creates the largest privately owned paint maker in Florida.

In an acquisition effective today, Florida Paints paid an undisclosed price for Scott, a company that manufactures paints and coatings in a large plant in eastern Sarasota County and sells at 17 stores from Lakeland to Naples.

The combined company will produce close to 3 million gallons of paint a year, and the 71-employee Scott Paint will remain a separate brand produced in Sarasota, said Florida Paints co-founder Don Strube Jr. “Scott has a great brand name. We don’t want to touch that,” Strube said.

Scott, founded here in 1965 by the Wagman family, has been owned since 1998 by Ramer Equities, a family owned operation in Baltimore.

The owners of Florida Paints have been “friendly competitors” with Scott for decades, Strube said.

“We’d all compete against the same giants, like Sherwin-Williams and PPG,” he said.

The deal came together when Scott CEO Doug Ramer informed Strube and brother/co-founder Rick Strube four months ago that he was interested in selling.

Both companies formulate paints that are designed specifically for Florida’s hot sun, high humidity and wind-driven rain, making the combination a “perfect fit,” Don Strube said.

“We have always focused more on new construction, while Scott has focused on repainting,” he said. “They would like to get more into the new construction business.”

expand into new markets.

Scott Paint employs 11 in manufacturing/ distribution and nine in administration at the 83,000-squarefoot plant at 7839 Fruitville Road.

The rest work at the stores.

The company now produces about 750,000 gallons of paint each year, down from its pre-recession peak of about 2 million gallons annually. The “architectural coatings” industry, as it is known, took a hit when new construction plummeted starting in 2007, and condominium managers and even do-ityourselfers postponed repainting jobs during the economic downturn.

Bernard “Bernie” Wagman started Scott Paint — named after his son — at a 4,500-square-foot operation in north Sarasota. After four years, it moved to a larger plant on Cattlemen Road. In 1988, it purchased DPI Quality Paints of Clearwater and doubled in size.

Growth prompted Scott to move in 1993 into its current home on 11 acres in east Sarasota.

In Orlando the Strube family founded Color Wheel Paints & Coatings in 1960, building a business with sales of $100 million before selling in 2006 to Sherwin-Williams. After waiting out a non-compete agreement, the Strubes created the Florida Paints brand in 2012.

With the combined company, Strube said Scott should be able to ramp up production and add more employees in Sarasota County.

Florida Paints operates 12 stores in north and central Florida, he said, so the acquisition will allow both brands to

“We predict that both companies will be able to bring over a lot more customers now that they are on a more statewide basis,” he said.

Florida Paints Corporate Offices 3521 All American Blvd. • Orlando, FL 32810 407-293-4175 • PaintFlorida.com

Scott Paint Corporate Offices 7839 Fruitville Rd. • Sarasota, FL 34240 941-379-6428 • ScottPaint.com