March 10, 2021

Just months after Seaberg Industries joined the Crawford Company family, the two longtime Quad Cities manufacturers are eyeing new markets and customers while seeking more opportunities to work together.

On Oct. 2, 2020, the nearly 50-year-old Seaberg was purchased by the Rock Island-based Crawford. The deal not only united two local companies but, just as importantly, retained Seaberg’s west Davenport operations and its then 78-person workforce in the Quad Cities.  

Although Crawford and Seaberg both specialize in welded fabrication, Crawford President Ian Frink said they had different business models and mindsets. “Crawford historically has been a good custom fabricator – producing unique projects for customers. Seaberg’s business is similar but with larger-volume contracts.”

Echoing Frink, Seaberg General Manager Tim Pratt said, “Where they (Crawford) may only make two, three or four of something, we’re going to make hundreds.”

The varying models are allowing the companies to partner on existing projects as well as plan for even more collaboration, said Pratt, who was hired to head the new Seaberg leadership team. “We have the ability to work together with sourcing to Crawford and they can source to us. So, it really is a marriage of processing.”   

Keeping It QC

Crawford’s acquisition of Seaberg was welcome news for the local economy and the Quad Cities Chamber.

“What I’m excited about is to see the mergers and acquisitions in the Quad Cities by local investors,” said Paul Rumler, Chamber President & CEO. “For so long, we would hear about Quad Cities companies being acquired by investors outside the area, which threatened the presence of these companies in the region.”

He said outside investors do not have the same connection to the Quad Cities and may simply acquire a local company to take its intellectual property away or move the entire operation away.

But Rumler, whose staff works to attract and retain jobs for the region, said a new trend is emerging. “We are seeing great investors who are finding complementary companies to become part of their team, acquiring them and keeping it here.”

The practice is adding a whole new dimension to Keep It QC, an ongoing Chamber initiative driving consumers and businesses to spend their dollars locally.

“This is an example of a company and investors saying, ‘There is great inventory and talent in the Quad Cities, and let’s keep it here,’” Rumler said.

Successful diversification

Now, as a new division of Crawford, Seaberg joins what has been a growing portfolio of businesses and services.

“For a while, I felt like we were at Crawford once a year doing a ribbon-cutting, celebrating a new expansion, an acquisition or an add-on to the building,” Rumler said.

Frink, who co-owns Crawford with Jim Maynard Jr., said the firm’s operations are split 50/50 between its contracting business (heating, ventilation, air conditioning, electrical, plumbing and drain cleaning services) and its custom manufacturing/fabrication business. Previous expansions added Monoxivent products and services as well as microbrewery equipment to the Crawford mix. Crawford Brewing Equipment operates out of a 17,000-square-foot facility on 31st Avenue in Rock Island.

The addition of Seaberg as well as improving markets for its customers leads Frink to project 10% company-wide growth in 2021. After a record 2019, Crawford saw a downturn in 2020. Frink estimated company-wide sales were close to $70 million in 2020.

“The strategy here is to control what we can control,” he said. “We are going to be responsive to customers. But in addition, we are going to be aggressive and fill any voids we have. The team here (at Seaberg) is phenomenal. It’s not going to happen overnight.”

Pratt is also excited by the growth possibilities Seaberg brings to Crawford. 

He said the company’s previous investments in robotic welding cells, high-efficiency metal cutting machines and specialty tooling are helping its workforce meet a wide variety of customer orders.

Adding to the team

While some of their customers are still weathering downturns related to COVID-19, Frink and Pratt said there were also bright spots in 2020. For example, increased RV sales led to higher demand for trailer hitches – heavy-duty metal units produced at Seaberg – that attach to the undercarriage of vehicles and pull an RV.

In fact, the uptick prompted Seaberg to add a third shift in late February just to produce these products, Pratt said. 

“The next couple months are going to be pretty exciting here,” Pratt said. “We’re concerned about bringing people on fast enough.”

Pratt said the expected growth “is going to involve new resources – from people to equipment to footprint.”

He expects to add additional welders, CNC operators, quality control inspectors, press operators, design engineers and more. “We might need another five to 10 people long-term depending on how we react to the sudden growth.”

While the growth will require a capital investment by Crawford, Frink said, “We have new opportunities, and we have to capitalize on them. In the short time that we’ve owned here, everyone has stepped up to bring new opportunities.”

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At a glance: Seaberg Industries

New owners: Rock Island-based Crawford Company acquired Seaberg Industries, which manufactures metal-fabricated and precision-machined parts, components and assemblies for a number of industries.

Direct impact: The October 2020 sale of Seaberg retained 78 direct jobs in the Quad-Cities with a direct payroll of $3,096,285.

Total economic impact: Seaberg supports 118 total jobs with a total payroll of $5,044,394. It has a total annual economic impact of $19,482,137.

Location: Seaberg, now a division of Crawford, retained its 65,000-square-foot plant at 2395 West Lake Blvd., Davenport.

History: Founded by George Seaberg in 1973 at his family home, the manufacturer provided machined and fabricated products for the construction and agricultural industries. The name changed from ARI Industries to Seaberg Industries after moving to Moline from its original Bettendorf location. It later relocated to the Rock Island Industrial Park, and in June 2011, announced plans to consolidate all of its operations in west Davenport.

In 2007, Seaberg was acquired by a group of five managers: Craig Kinzer, Jim Merten, Ray Clark, Tony Alvarado and Brian DeKeyzer. In 2014, the company launched an employee stock option plan (ESOP). The five majority owners purchased out the 30% ESOP in 2020 – selling their 100% ownership to Crawford in October 2020.

Parent company impact: The addition of Seaberg expanded Crawford’s workforce to 271 total employees across several divisions. Other operations include Crawford Company with 178 total employees in Rock Island and at Crawford North in Dubuque; and 15 employees at Art-O-Lite Electrical, a Moline firm Crawford bought in January 2020.

Crawford Company operations: Crawford specializes in heating, ventilation, air conditioning, plumbing, drain cleaning, electrical, laser cutting, specialty-welded fabrication, brewing equipment, custom architectural products and Monoxivent products and services. Its 1306 Mill St., Rock Island, facility houses its headquarters, manufacturing operations and Art-O-Lite Electrical. Crawford Brewing Equipment operates out of 730 31st Ave., Rock Island.

Crawford history: In 1952, Harvey Crawford founded Crawford Heating & Cooling in a small shop at 4th Avenue and 21st Street, Rock Island. The present-day headquarters was built in 1965 – surviving the Great Flood of 1965. In 1974, Harvey Crawford died and employees Bob Frink and Jim Maynard Sr. assumed management duties.  In 2017, Frink retired after 45 years at Crawford, including 43 years as president.

Current ownership: Crawford is owned by Ian Frink, company president, and Jim Maynard Jr., vice president.

New team leads Seaberg Industries

After its sale to Crawford Company, Seaberg Industries enlisted some new and some familiar faces to lead the manufacturing operation in its next chapter.

At the helm of Seaberg is a four-person leadership team including two previous owners, Tony Alvarado and Ray Clark, and two new key hires, General Manager Tim Pratt and Controller Mark Gray.

Now a division of Crawford, Seaberg’s business model closely aligns with Crawford’s Fabrication Division, which is led by Division Manager Keith Gerks. Pratt reports to Gerks, who played a critical role in the acquisition as well as the hiring of Pratt.

"Gerks had the initial relationship with Seaberg and helped develop the new business model," Frink said. "He also spent a tremendous amount of time ensuring the transition went smoothly and is involved in Seaberg’s daily operations as a key liaison to Crawford."

Here’s a look at the team:

• Tim Pratt joined Seaberg after the company was sold in October 2020, to the Rock Island-based Crawford. He previously was general manager at Service Steel in East Moline, where he worked his way up from machine operator to supervisor and operations/quality manager.
• Tony Alvarado, who first joined Seaberg in 1986 and later became an owner, now is Seaberg’s engineering manager. He oversees quotation, job processing, engineering changes and fixturing/tooling design. He previously was an engineer for a large steel fabricating and construction company.
• Ray Clark, a former owner of Seaberg, now oversees its purchasing department. Clark, who first joined the company in 1994, brings an extensive sales and management background. He is American Welding Society qualified and assists with customer service and information systems.
• Mark Gray joined Seaberg as its new controller/assistant chief financial officer after the acquisition. He most recently worked as a manager at a national accounting firm in the Quad Cities. He is a CPA and holds a bachelor’s and master’s degree in accounting.