Colson has become aware of a fraudulent effort to defraud individuals with illegitimate offers of employment asking for personal information.
For information regarding actual open positions at Colson Group, and to apply for employment with Colson, use the Careers section of this website.
OAKBROOK TERRACE, IL., April 5th, 2022—Colson Group, the global leader in caster and wheel products, has unveiled a new equity participation program which grants employees shares in the company and encourages employees to “act like owners.” Chief Executive Officer Rich Kobor announced that the organization will provide this opportunity to all Colson employees worldwide at an employee appreciation event held at the construction site of the new Colson Group facility in Jonesboro, AR.
“We are working to create a culture of ownership and transparency,” said Kobor. “Our employees make our company what it is, and we want all of them to better share in our success. Our goal is to inspire our employees to act like owners, so that they have a stake in our company’s growth and a voice in our direction.”
The program, which is being structured and implemented in partnership with non-profit Ownership Works, aligns with Colson Group’s interest in creating and developing a strong culture of pride and engagement among its employees. The program aims to encourage employees to take greater responsibility for their work at the company by aligning the interests of both the company and the individual.
“Importantly, we believe this program could make a meaningful difference in the lives of our employees and their families, while driving increased value for Colson,” said David Wells, Chief Human Resources Officer.
This approach is based on the conviction that employees are significantly more likely to personally identify with their company if they own a part of it. Employee co-owners are more motivated and committed, willing to assume responsibility, and contribute to their company’s long-term success.
Colson Group is a portfolio company of Blue Wolf Capital Partners LLC, New York-based private equity firm that builds stronger businesses by combining financial and operational discipline with Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) principles.
About Colson Group:
Colson Group, the global leader in caster and wheel products, creates and drives solutions that move lives forward. World renowned brands provide specialized mobility for every industry and market. A leading product portfolio and proprietary global value chain delivery unparalleled efficiencies and support. With over 1,600 employees across 25 global facilities, Colson Group is committed to its customers’ success, ensuring proper products are selected or designed from the start, and always keeping the end-users’ safety, efficiency, and happiness in mind.
Press Contact: Eric Gorte
Phone: 989-859-1864
Email: [email protected]
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
OAKBROOK TERRACE, IL., March 1, 2021 — Colson Group, a global leader in caster and wheel product solutions, today announced its acquisition by Blue Wolf Capital Partners LLC (“Blue Wolf”).
“We are excited to partner with Blue Wolf, a firm that shares our philosophies and vision for Colson Group,” stated Tom Blashill, CEO of Colson Group. “While our strong global brands and experienced team attracted substantial investor attention, Blue Wolf differentiated themselves. Their expertise and deep understanding of industrial businesses and customer channels will be a tremendous asset in our plans for operational and service excellence. Blue Wolf appreciates the work completed so far in our global transformation and their skillset and strategy will help accelerate it with further investments in domestic manufacturing, service technologies, and product solutions that continue to separate us from the competition.”
Blue Wolf is a New York-based private equity firm that builds stronger businesses by combining financial and operational discipline with Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) principles. The firm works closely with management to create value at companies in specialty sectors including niche manufacturing, industrial & engineering services, forest & building products and healthcare services.
“Our experience building best-in-class industrial manufacturing companies positions Blue Wolf well to support Colson Group in accelerating growth and enhancing its current market position and manufacturing strategy,” said Adam Blumenthal, Managing Partner of Blue Wolf Capital Partners. “We are excited to partner with Tom Blashill and the Colson Group management team to provide the necessary capital and resources to drive long-term growth opportunities for the company and its customers. We look forward to building on Colson Group’s rich legacy of product solutions and long-standing business relationships with our commitment to organizational and operational excellence.”
Former owner Sentinel Capital Partners sold Colson Group to Blue Wolf after acquiring the company in 2012. Prior to Sentinel, the company was held by Robert Pritzker who acquired the Colson caster brand in 1953 and built it into the worldwide caster leader that is now Colson Group.
About Colson Group (www.ColsonGroup.com): Colson Group, a global leader in caster and wheel products, creates and drives solutions that move lives forward. World renowned brands provide specialized mobility for every industry and market. A leading product portfolio and proprietary global value chain deliver unparalleled efficiencies and support. With over 1,600 employees across 30 global facilities, Colson Group is committed to its customers’ success, ensuring proper products are selected or designed from the start, and always keeping the end-users’ safety, efficiency, and happiness in mind.
About Blue Wolf Capital Partners: Blue Wolf Capital Partners LLC is a private equity firm that specializes in control investments in middle market companies. Leading by experience, and with a commitment to excellence, Blue Wolf transforms companies strategically, operationally and collaboratively. Blue Wolf manages challenging situations and complex relationships between business, customers, employees, unions, and regulators to build value for stakeholders. For additional information, please visit www.bluewolfcapital.com.
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OAKBROOK TERRACE, IL (January 19, 2021) — Colson Group, a global leader in manufacturing casters and wheels, has officially launched an advanced new series of wheels specially made for use on equipment that’s frequently exposed to high-temperature sterilization chambers and repeated cart wash applications. The new Sterilizer High-Temp Soft Wheels are antimicrobial, competitively priced, and feature desirable performance characteristics exceeding wheels typically used in these applications.
As explained by Jeffrey Bader, the company’s product manager for the medical segment, “Hospitals and labs often sterilize instruments and equipment utilizing wheeled carts that historically required hard wheels to handle the frequent exposure to high temperatures and vacuum pressure. This was due to traditional soft wheels flat spotting, melting or breaking down relatively quickly in these conditions—despite it being the preferred option for mobility performance, and noise and vibration reduction. With this launch, customers can now attain these mobility benefits with a soft wheel specifically designed to address these challenges—making the MedCaster Sterilizer Wheel a superior option for case carts, sterilizer carts, test cages, lab equipment and operating room equipment.”
Sterilizer High-Temp Soft Wheels were formulated and independently tested to withstand typical steam sterilization cycles of 280°F at -32 psi vacuum pressure, without developing flat spots or having the outer tread separate from the core. Even under these extreme conditions, the wheels provide excellent traction and quiet performance, absorbing shock and vibration much greater than the hard wheels traditionally required.
Available in both 5” and 6” wheel diameters, MedCaster Sterilizer wheels feature stainless steel thread guards to prevent the collection of entangling debris, dual-shielded precision ball bearings for smooth and quiet mobility, and debris-rejecting antimicrobial treads for durability and performance. Add the Sterilizer Wheel to MedCaster’s recently upgraded SX Series swivel, rigid, total lock, or direction lock caster solutions to gain all of the high-temp benefits for your carts or equipment. For additional information, please visit www.medcaster.com/Sterilizer or connect with caster experts at www.medcaster.com/contact to help solve any of your mobility needs.
About Colson Group: Colson Group, the global leader in caster and wheel products, creates and drives solutions that move lives forward. World renowned brands provide specialized mobility for every industry and market. A leading product portfolio and proprietary global value chain delivery unparalleled efficiencies and support. With over 1,600 employees across 25 global facilities, Colson Group is committed to its customers’ success, ensuring proper products are selected or designed from the start, and always keeping the end-users’ safety, efficiency, and happiness in mind.
Expands global product solutions and service capabilities.
OAKBROOK TERRACE, IL., October 21, 2020 — Colson Group, a leading global caster and wheel company, announced today that it has completed the asset acquisition of Vulcan Industries, Inc..
“With complementing products and customer bases, this acquisition was a natural fit to broaden and enhance the product solutions and services available to our collective customers,” stated Tom Blashill, CEO of Colson Group. “United by common goals for quality products and responsive service, we are committed to advancing the high level of service Vulcan customers are familiar with through our established global infrastructure and investments in technology and people.”
For years, the Vulcan brand has provided customers throughout North America with high quality casters for various light and medium duty applications—specializing in solutions for food service, hospitality, and medical industries.
“This acquisition integrates the Vulcan brand and resources into Colson Group’s leading portfolio and US infrastructure, enabling it to leverage new channels for growth,” said Bjorn Haldorsen, President of Colson Group North America. “In addition, Vulcan customers now also have access to our global engineering, manufacturing, and service resources to help them solve any of their mobility or supply chain challenges. We are extremely pleased to welcome the Vulcan team to Colson Group.”
About Colson Group (www.ColsonGroup.com): Colson Group, the global leader in caster and wheel products, creates and drives solutions that move lives forward. World renowned brands provide specialized mobility for every industry and market. A leading product portfolio and proprietary global value chain delivery unparalleled efficiencies and support. With over 1,600 employees across 30 global facilities, Colson Group is committed to its customers’ success, ensuring proper products are selected or designed from the start, and always keeping the end-users’ safety, efficiency, and happiness in mind.
This past weekend an EF-3 tornado tore through Jonesboro, AR causing substantial damage to the community. Over 20 people were injured as this storm took a direct hit on Jonesboro and we all remain thankful that no fatalities were reported. Our local teams are all safe and our plant was left undamaged and remains operational.
We will continue to support our local team members, their families, and the rest of the community as it comes together to rebuild and help those that were injured and impacted.
More information on relief efforts can be found on the bottom of this updated local news article:
Dear Valued Customer,
The safety and health of our employees and business partners continues to be our top priority as we maneuver through these unchartered times brought on by COVID-19.
The US Department of Homeland Security recently issued new guidelines to state and local governments on which businesses are considered essential and have a special responsibility to remain operational during any Shelter in Place orders. The publication can be viewed at the following link:
Colson Group continues to play its role in fighting this virus by providing critical mobility components into the healthcare industry and other essential industries that are supporting the welfare of our communities. We are quickly ramping up global production capabilities to support several of these critical industries. Based on these published guidelines, Colson Group is considered an essential business that must continue to operate during this difficult time and is exempt from current Shelter in Place orders.
Colson Group will continue to operate its business under the safest of standards (please refer to our previous communication for further details) and will continue to work with our local teams, suppliers and officials to safely maintain our ability to service your needs. As previously communicated, we continue to assess all open orders and will notify you of any potential delay as quickly as possible. If your order or request is critical to fighting the impact of the virus, please inform us at the time of inquiry or order placement so we can do our very best to prioritize and expedite it.
We will continue to post all updates to our News area on the Colson Group website (https://colsongroup.com/news/) and will continue to keep you updated on any critical advancements.
We again thank you for your business and support in these difficult times.
Sincerely,
Colson Group
Dear Valued Customer,
With the increasing concern regarding the COVID-19 coronavirus, we wanted to ensure you that we are closely monitoring the situation and provide you a quick update as it relates to our operations and the actions we will be taking.
Our first priority is always the safety and well-being of our employees, business partners and communities. As we have all seen, the situation with the COVID-19 virus continues to quickly change throughout our local communities. Colson Group closely monitors these changes to assess any potential impact they could have on our operations—and will continue to work with our local teams and officials to safely maintain our ability to service your needs. Below are general updates regarding our operations and key actions we are taking to ensure the safest operating standards:
As previously communicated, our advanced planning for Chinese New Year has helped mitigate delays, however we continue to assess all open orders and will notify you of any potential delay as quickly as possible. We are happy to answer any questions you might have, so please feel free to reach out to your Colson Group sales representative for additional support.
We again thank you for your business and understanding in these difficult times.
Sincerely,
Colson Group
Dear Valued Customer,
The dynamic coronavirus outbreak continues to disrupt life throughout the world, especially in mainland China. We mourn with the rest of the world for the lives lost, and keep the safety and health of the public, our employees and partners, and all of their families as our top concern.
As a customer of Colson Group, we write to you today to provide a summary of updates as it pertains to our operations in China and the potential impact this outbreak may have on our Chinese manufactured goods. We are in continual contact with our local teams in China and will keep you updated on any advancements that could further impact product deliveries out of China.
We ask that you please direct any question to your Regional Sales Manager or Account Manager and again thank you for your business and understanding in this difficult time.
Sincerely,
Colson Group
MedCaster will be ready to solve all of your mobility needs at the upcoming 105th RSNA Scientific Assembly and Annual Meeting, December 1st – 6th 2019 at McCormick Place in Chicago, Illinois. If you are attending come see us at booth #3271 to discuss solutions to make your products quieter, cleaner, and easier to move. MedCaster, a medical brand of Colson Group, designs its products with both patient and operator in mind, continuously working to enhance the mobility of medical applications around the world.
About RSNA: at RSNA 2019, you will get hands-on experience with cutting-edge technology, including artificial intelligence (AI), 3D printing and virtual reality. Dive into the latest research, enhance your skills at over 400 educational courses, and join 50,000 attendees here to meet the leaders shaping tomorrow.
The Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) is a non-profit organization with over 54,000 members from 136 countries around the world.
Focused on providing high-quality educational resources, including continuing education credits toward physicians’ certification maintenance, host the world’s largest radiology conference and publish two top peer-reviewed journals: Radiology and RadioGraphics.
RSNA is dedicated to building the future of our profession, whether that’s through their Research & Education Foundation, which has funded $60 million in grants since its inception, or with solutions to support standards development or educational outreach to low-resource nations.
https://www.rsna.org/annual-meeting
About Colson Group: Colson Group, the global leader in caster and wheel products, creates and drives solutions that move lives forward. World renowned brands provide specialized mobility for every industry and market. A leading product portfolio and proprietary global value chain delivery unparalleled efficiencies and support. With over 1,600 employees across 25 global facilities, Colson Group is committed to its customers’ success, ensuring proper products are selected or designed from the start, and always keeping the end-users’ safety, efficiency, and happiness in mind.