A 64-year-old Greenville business announced it is merging with the United States branch of a Belgium-based manufacturer of industrial cleaning supplies. The new company will be headquartered in Greenville.

UNX Industries, based in Greenville, and Christeyns USA announced a merger agreement that will create UNX-Christeyns. The arrangement goes in effect on July 1, according to a company news release.

“The new U.S.-based company will be able to deliver an unparalleled portfolio of chemicals, detergents, engineered equipment and cleaning solutions to the commercial and industrial textile care market,” the news release said.

The merger allows the new company to combine Christeyns’ global innovation and supply chain capabilities with UNX’s domestic manufacturing and distribution platform.

The company’s headquarters will be located in Greenville at UNX’s current offices on East Arlington Boulevard, the release said.

Josh Lilley of UNX will serve as chief executive officer and Christeyns’ Rudi Moors will be the president. Sales and service staff, along with distributor networks throughout the country, will remain in place.

“We have embraced family values for over 60 years in our business, and now another like-minded family-oriented business with a global reach has joined us,” Lilley said. “This agreement makes us a stronger, more flexible organization that is laser-focused on expanding our presence in the U.S.”

“This is a true 50-50 partnership, and both companies have compatible values and a shared passion for serving our customers,” Moors said. “Current and future customers will benefit from a wider selection of products and wash concepts, enhanced service, and the chemical innovation and R&D capabilities we have to offer.”

UNX was founded in 1958 and earned a reputation for providing companies with “superior, commercial grade cleaning products for their laundry, housekeeping and warewash needs,” the release said. It supplies a variety of industrial laundries along with education, healthcare, food service, hospitality and athletic facilities. The company’s equipment helps customers increase their efficiencies and extend linen life, the release said.

“We strive to bring added value to our customers, and this merger gives us the ability to provide better buying power and new product concepts to make them more efficient operators,” Lilley said. “Christeyns has 46 offices, 17 manufacturing facilities and nine R&D centers around the world. When you add in the manufacturing, distribution and supply chain strengths UNX has built domestically, these are strong attributes that will benefit our customers.”

Article courtesy of The Daily Reflector