Aalberts Industries N.V. has reached an agreement with Tomkins Industries Inc. to acquire 100% of the shares of Lasco Fittings Inc. Subject to the usual considerations, the deal was expected to close by March 1. No purchase price was announced.

Lasco, with about 500 employees and $104 million in sales, is a leading U.S. manufacturer of plastic fittings and accessories for the plumbing, irrigation and pool/spa markets. It also produces a range of flow control products for the retail and industrial sectors.

Lasco President Jack McDonald told Supply House Times that he and the current management team expect to stay in place. The biggest change under Aalberts’ ownership is that they “will look to expand our product portfolio to our core market,” said McDonald. He also indicated that Aalberts would look to expand the export portion of Lasco Fittings’ business, especially to Europe, where Lasco has minimal presence so far. At present Lasco Fittings gets about 15% of its revenues from offshore, McDonald told us.

Lasco Fittings operates out of a single plant in Brownsville, TN, near Memphis, with a regional network of seven distribution centers. McDonald expects no change in that status.

Aalberts also owns copper fittings producer Elkhart Products Co., which it purchased in 2004. McDonald said there are no plans to consolidate the two companies, which will operate as autonomous units.