ITW Acquires Slime Tire Sealant Products

We don’t often get to talk about slime, so we jumped at the chance to run this awesome commercial from the folks at Slime tire repair. “Slime your tires because flats suck.” What a great tagline.

Illinois Tool Works Inc. just announced the acquisition of Accessories Marketing Inc. (AMI) creator and manufacturer of the Slime brand of tire sealant products (that’s the tie-in). AMI is a leader in flat tire prevention and repair, and its Slime branded products can be found in more than 60,000 retail outlets in over 36 countries. Accessories Marketing Inc. employs approximately 60 people and has a global headquarters in Grover Beach, Calif.

The purchase was announced by David C. Parry, Executive Vice President of ITW, who indicated that AMI would become part of ITW’s Performance Polymers and Fluids Group and continue to operate as a separate entity. Parry added: “Accessories Marketing, Inc. is an excellent acquisition for ITW; this business fits nicely with our growing automotive aftermarket group. The Slime brand is a pioneer in the liquid tire sealant category, and their innovative products have a high level of acceptance in a wide range of markets.”

The AMI acquisition was led by Permatex, a business unit of ITW. According to Andy Robinson, general manager for Permatex, “We recognized the strong brand equity that Slime carries and we’re excited to know that the brand is now part of the ITW family.”

Slime was founded in 1993 by the Cegelski family and acquired by an affiliate of Friend Skoler & Co. in 2006. With $13.9 billion in 2009 revenues, ITW is a multinational manufacturer of a diversified range of value-adding and short lead-time industrial products and equipment.