Central Moloney Inc. has acquired Cam Tran Manufacturing Co. of Canada, the latest transaction in the Pine Bluff transformer company’s expansion.
Central Moloney CEO Chris Hart announced the acquisition to stakeholders Thursday, adding his company has had a close relationship with Cam Tran. Central Moloney was just bought last October by Wind Point Partners of Chicago, which changed the ownership from an employee stock ownership corporation.
“It is my pleasure to announce that we have formally acquired Cam Tran and will begin the process of making our two individual families better,” Hart wrote in a letter to stakeholders. “In truth, we have no intent on totally blending the two companies together. Their name will remain the same and hold the value of distinction they have earned. They will simply now [complement] us and vice versa. Our shared experiences as a combined entity of 117 years will prove to make us an even more formidable presence in our industry.”
Terms of the acquisition were not released.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Based in Colborne, Ontario, Cam Tran — short for Campbell Transformers — is a family business incorporated in 1982 that is responsible for fabrication and powder coating of mild and stainless steel tanks, as well as manufacturing, repair and remanufacturing for all class and types of distribution transformers, according to its website. As of 2023, Cam Tran has 473 employees across four provinces with more than 250,000 square feet of manufacturing space.
It also claims to be Canada’s largest full-line distribution, oil-filled transformer company, and the country’s largest producer of single-phase and three-phase amorphous transformers.
Brothers Kyle and Bryn Campbell, who previously served as president and chief financial officer of Cam Tran, will remain in a supporting role, Hart added. Another brother was part of Cam Tran’s ownership.
“I personally will lean on them as we move forward,” Hart wrote, adding he sought to acquire Cam Tran.
Hart indicated in his letter Central Moloney has had a relationship with Cam Tran for decades. Cam Tran, he said, has also started to service some U.S. customers while growing its footprint to include manufacturing facilities stretching from Nova Scotia on the East Coast of Canada to British Columbia on the West Coast.
“Just like CMI, they have grown their branches while not forgetting their roots of core values centered around the people who make up their family, the people who buy their products and the people who are the ultimate end users of their service,” Hart wrote.
The acquisition of Cam Tran will have no effect on the Pine Bluff workforce, Hart told The Commercial.
Central Moloney last April opened a facility in Panama City Beach, Fla., that produces pole-mounted transformers, which Hart said helped his company make good on a promise to put more transformers in the market.
CMI is also working on establishing a 302,000-square-foot center in Crestview, Fla., to open in either 2026 or 2027. In 2018 CMI bought Superior Tool and Die to help with components, and in 2022 it acquired Pine Bluff Crate and Pallet to ensure products are delivered in a timely manner.