Cohesant Inc. was formed in July 1994 to serve as the holding Company for the combination of GlasCraft Inc. and American Chemical Company. GlasCraft had been manufacturing and selling spray finishing and coatings application equipment since 1959. American Chemical, founded in 1952, made and sold adhesives and sealants. In addition, American Chemical also manufactured AquataPoxy, a line of high-performance epoxy coating products targeted to the needs of the rehabilitation and maintenance of infrastructure, especially drinking water distributions systems, wastewater collection systems, and treatment plants. In December 1994, the tremendous opportunities in the infrastructure rehabilitation markets served by AquataPoxy combined with GlasCraft’s steady cash flow fueled Cohesant Technologies public offering of its common shares.
Over time, Cohesant moved to cement its position in the infrastructure markets. In 1995, Cohesant acquired Raven Lining Systems, a manufacturer of products complementary to AquataPoxy. The Raven acquisition gave Cohesant a more complete line of infrastructure rehabilitation and maintenance coatings. In late 1997, Cohesant sharpened its rehabilitation focus by selling the American Chemical sealants and adhesives business and aggregating the AquataPoxy rehabilitation business within Raven Linings Systems.
Improved focus allowed Cohesant to grow from $9.8 MM in sales in 1997 to $16.3MM in sales in 2001. The rehabilitation focus was working. The next five years accelerated the pace of improvement.
2002 brought a new management team and the beginning of changes to the operations and business processes of Cohesant. In 2003, management accelerated the pace of change with the launch of the Cohesant 2.0 program to improve operating efficiencies and improve the level of service to the Company’s customers. Recognizing its strengthening financial position, the Company in 2003 announced its first ever dividend. In 2004, Cohesant formally instituted an annual dividend policy and was also named one of the 200 Best Small Companies by Forbes Magazine.
In 2005, Cohesant moved solidly into Rehabilitation Services with the acquisition of CuraFlo Technologies, North America’s leading provider of small pipe rehabilitation solutions. During 2006, Cohesant further enhanced its service offerings with the acquisition of Triton, North America’s leading provider of polymer rehabilitation solutions for larger diameter pipe.
In early 2008, Cohesant further narrowed its focus on the infrastructure market by selling its GlasCraft spray finishing and coatings business. In conjunction with that transaction, Cohesant reorganized the Company into its present subsidiaries – RLS Solutions Inc., CuraFlo Services Inc., CuraFlo Franchising Inc. and Cohesant Materials Inc., each focusing on a specific segment of the water and waste water protection and renewal market.
Cohesant management is confident that the strategic and operational improvements made over the past several years, combined with the acquisitions of CuraFlo and Triton and the divestiture of GlasCraft, will allow us to accelerate the growth curve in the years to come.