Oconomowoc-based Sentry Equipment has acquired Houston, Texas-based Cobra Sampling Inc. The terms of the transaction, which closed April 7, were not disclosed.
Sentry Equipment develops and manufactures equipment and systems used to sample water, steam, gas, liquids, slurries and bulk solids. Its products are used globally, most often in the power generation industry. Sentry is fully owned by its 180 employees.
Cobra Sampling manufactures closed-loop sampling systems designed for gas and liquid process sampling. It has six employees at a 3,500-square-foot facility in Houston, all of whom will be retained in the transaction. Sentry already has hired two additional service technicians in Houston, and has plans to move the Houston operations to a larger facility in the next year or two, said Sentry spokesperson Elisa Filipp. The larger facility could accommodate expanded manufacturing, services and a demonstration/training center.
Any related hiring would “all depend on growth and the needs for our customers, but certainly our goal is to better meet the demands of our customers in the Gulf Coast region with more responsive service,” Filipp said.
According to Sentry, the acquisition will allow it to more fully meet customer demand with an expanded closed-loop, low-emission sampler product selection, as well as additional process application capabilities in the oil refining, petrochemical and chemical industries. Sentry plans to make the Cobra Sampling facility a center of excellence from which it can serve its refining, petrochemical and chemical customers, providing a Gulf Coast responsive service center.
“By creating a center of excellence in Houston, this investment represents our commitment to better serve process plants who want safe and quality sampling choices backed by reliable service for maximum uptime,” said Brian Baker, chief executive officer of Sentry Equipment.
“We are very excited about joining Sentry Equipment,” said Rod Lunceford, president of Cobra Sampling. “Our philosophies and goals to provide high-quality products and responsive service to the industrial sampling market are very much aligned. We also share a common core value of building lasting customer relationships and a culture of employee ownership.”
