Wellman Dynamics acquired in a sign of growth

In an acquisition which company leaders described a sign of the business’ recent growth, J.F. Lehman & Company are now the majority shareholder in Creston’s Wellman Dynamics.

The previous majority shareholder, TRM Equity, will remain in a minority ownership position as JFL takes over. Wellman produces large-scale complex magnesium and aluminum sand castings which are used in aerospace and defense manufacturing.

JFL, founded by former Secretary of the Navy John F. Lehman, sought out purchasing Wellman from TRM after seeing growth in the company. Wellman Chief Operating Officer Ralph Clendenin said JFL’s goals matched with Wellman’s history.

“[JFL] appreciates companies with very specific specialties, niche businesses,” Clendenin said. “What Wellman does meets their expectations and fulfilling their specific part.”

For the more than 400 employees of Wellman who live in Creston and the Union County area, this acquisition won’t change how Wellman operates. After a period of growth, JFL wants to keep the company growing.

“There is no exchange of people,” Clendenin said. “[JFL] specifically asked for the management team to continue to run the business as it has run and continue to run that way.”

TRM Managing Director Jeff Stone said the improvement in Wellman since the pandemic has been an honor to oversee. Part of TRM’s goal is to build struggling businesses and put them back on their feet.

“When we acquired Wellman in 2022, it was struggling to perform, with very significant past dues and experiencing challenges with liquidity,” Stone said. “The team at Wellman embraced our approach and within months started to address technical and operational issues.”

Clendenin, who had a connection to TRM when he worked with them as Ashland Foundry & Machine Works‘s general manager and president, helped Wellman grow from their uncertain condition. Now, almost four years later, Wellman is running smoothly.

Wellman’s next goal is to keep growing. As a prominent part of Creston and Union County’s commercial presence, Wellman understands growth for the company can reflect in growth for local areas.

With growth comes the need for more employees, which requires those employees to have comfortable housing. As the company grows, Clendenin said monitoring housing opportunities in Creston and Union County is worth paying attention to.

“We’re very interested in seeing Union County, Creston, the people who finance homes, build homes, invest in homes, living spaces, apartments, whatever that is, we’re very interested in opportunities that are going to take place in the next few years to address housing,” Clendenin said.

With the acquisition now in place, Clendenin said the local community’s dedication to the company is worth celebrating.

“It’s a compliment to Creston and the employees and the people of this town that the business can be turned around and be vital,” Clendenin said. “I see that as being a generational marker for the high school students coming out, wondering, ‘should I go away? Is there a way to come back home?’ I think the answer is we want to be part of that solution.”