Milwaukee-based Desco Corp. has acquired the assets of Rockland, Mass.-based Morse Diving Inc. for $30,000.
Desco manufactures commercial and military diving equipment. Morse, established in 1837, manufactured similar products.
Morse recently entered bankruptcy and has closed its 5,000-square-foot plant and laid off its three employees.
Desco will move Morse’s assets into its 15,000-square-foot plant at 240 N. Milwaukee St. With the acquisition, Desco will double the size of its product line. Desco has 10 employees.
“We didn’t take on much of the machinery,” said Christian Koellner, owner of Desco. “What we took was their drawings, patterns, patents, trademarks. Their equipment would have been redundant to our equipment.”
“They have different versions of some helmets that we didn’t have, so it expands that way,” Koellner said. “They have been making helmets for 180 years. They were one of the first American companies doing that.”
