PROVIDENCE — The Colibri Group is bringing an old New England timepiece back
home.
The Seth Thomas brand, America’s oldest clock company, founded in 1853 in Connecticut, had moved some years ago to Georgia where it became part of the General Time Corp., the nation’s largest clock company, which on July 5 of this year went bankrupt.
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Fred Levinger, president and chief executive officer of Colibri, said his company bought the Seth Thomas brand, while other companies bought General Time’s other brands. Levinger would not disclose the selling price.
Levinger said Colibri bought the Seth Thomas brand and inventory, but did not purchase either the company or manufacturing facility. He expects the property to be sold off separately.
“We already had a clock business,” Levinger said, “but we didn’t have a brand like Seth Thomas. Seth Thomas was actually the oldest clock company in America. It started and was based in New England and is now combing back to New England.”
Levinger said the Seth Thomas operation will move to Rhode Island, adding some 20 to 30 employees to the company’s workforce, which is at about 525. Colibri operates plants in Providence and Cranston, and has a warehouse in North Smithfield.
For Colibri it’s a significant acquisition. Levinger said Seth Thomas had annual gross sales of about $15 million, although he was uncertain what impact the bankruptcy of its parent company might have on overall sales. The $15 million, however, is equal to about 17 percent of Colibri’s gross sales now, which are at some $90 million.
The acquisition, he said, will double the size of Colibri’s clock business.
“This is part and parcel of building a brand strategy for this company,” Levinger said, noting a number of leading brands that Colibri manufactures, including the Colibri brand itself.
Levinger said that over the last 11 years, Colibri bought five companies, some of which were in financial trouble. “We have been able to resurrect them all,” he said. Colibri was established in Providence about 30 years ago.
