Mestek, a manufacturer of specialty HVAC for industrial, commercial and residential spaces, announced the acquisition of the baseboard assets of Slant/Fin, a leading provider of hydronic baseboard radiation.

The transaction builds upon Mestek’s track record of investing in channel specific companies that provide its customers with high quality solutions to their HVAC needs while keeping in concert with their core manufacturing strengths.

The acquisition of Slant/Fin baseboard assets brings together a major business component of two family-run companies who have always focused on consistently manufacturing and delivering superior quality, solutions-based hydronic heating equipment to residential and commercial customers across North America.

“Slant/Fin baseboard is a proven product with a very loyal following of customer partners and falls seamlessly within our corporate philosophies," said Tim Markel, president of the Mestek’s distributor products group. "We are very excited for this opportunity to continue the hydronic baseboard legacy of two respected industry icons and take great pride in both the past accomplishments of these organizations and look forward to continuing on with the Slant/Fin Baseboard brand while upholding the history of this tremendous organization.”

Mestek, originally the Sterling Radiator Co., was founded in 1946 by John E. Reed while the Slant/Fin Corp. was founded in 1949 by Mel Dubin.

In a small Bartlett Street garage in Westfield, Massachusetts, in February 1946 Reed began producing fin-tube radiation using 1 inch and 2 inch steel tubes with 32 fins per foot. Fin-tube radiation was first used before World War II to heat railroad cars and was adapted in the post-war era to heat commercial building using both steam and hot water. Today, Mestek is a family run company of over 46 specialty manufacturers serving many facets of the HVAC equipment and building envelope industries including HVAC, metal forming, architectural building envelopes and intelligent equipment controls.

Some 165 miles to the south, down I95 in a small bakery on Coney Island, Dubin began producing an alternative to the newly established North American commercial baseboard market through the utilization of a “slanted locked fin” design, ultimately becoming the Slant/Fin Corp.

“Mel Dubin built a great company based upon the simple premise of making quality products and serving our customers," said Adam Dubin, CEO of the Slant/Fin Corp. "Along the way many families, employees and customers contributed to the growth of the company. Slant/Fin baseboard carved out a place in the American dream heating millions of homes. I’m proud that the Slant/Fin brand will continue on as part of Mestek.”

Both organizations have continued to engineer their products, perfecting their crafts for decades while amicably competing against each other for more than 72 years. Still today, both organizations continue to develop new products and grow with Slant/Fin concentrating on the hydronic heating segment, with not only its baseboard and hydronic heating business, the assets of which were sold in this acquisition, but also boilers covering both commercial and residential applications; and Mestek, concentrating in both the hydronic heating segments, as well as in other concentrated areas including gas-fired air side heating equipment, metal forming and architectural, including louvers and dampers.

Sawaya Partners acted as financial advisor to Slant/Fin Corp. with respect to the asset transaction.