Kaman Corporation announced that its Distribution Segment (Kaman) has signed a definitive agreement to acquire substantially all the assets of Ohio Gear & Transmission of Eastlake, Ohio.  The transaction is expected to close by the end of July.  Ohio Gear & Transmission will become part of Kaman’s Distribution segment. Founded in 1973, Ohio Gear & Transmission is a distributor of mechanical power transmission equipment, bearings & electric automation systems as well as a designer and fabricator of specialized gearing products to industries, such as food, packaging, material handling, and general machinery.  The company has one location and annual sales of approximately $9 million.

Steve Smidler, President of Kaman stated, “We are pleased to add Ohio Gear & Transmission to our mechanical power transmission product platform and welcome their employees to the Kaman team.   Ohio Gear provides entry into the Cleveland market, which represents a new geographic region for us, and they also have design, build and assembly capabilities for a wide variety of standard and unique gearing products.  With Ohio Gear we add a highly complementary business with a strong reputation, high quality products and excellent technical capabilities.”

Neal J. Keating, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Kaman Corporation, added, “This acquisition meets several strategic objectives for our distribution segment.  It enables us to expand our geographic footprint into a major industrial market, increases our service capabilities and strengthens our core bearings and power transmission product platform.”

John Bauer, president of Ohio Gear & Transmission stated, “After 40 years as an independent distributor, we felt it was in the best interest of our employees, customers, and supplier partners to join forces with a major national firm.  Our local knowledge combined with the scale and distribution expertise of Kaman will help us provide enhanced value to our customers.”