WEST WARWICK – Following 13 years with Bradford Soap Works Inc., and its 2023 sale to a Connecticut-based private equity firm, CEO Stuart Benton has departed the company.
Benton initially joined the company as CFO, with the intention of helping its owners sell the business. While a sale eventually took place, with Westport., Conn. private equity firm Gemspring Capital Management acquiring the business in summer 2023, the path wasn’t as short or straightforward as Benton had originally planned.
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Instead, Benton stepped into the CEO role in 2016 and would lead the company for another eight years, during that time he oversaw its transition from a commodity-focused company to a specialty soap manufacturer.
“We went through a huge transformation,” Benton said. “We drove significant value through the business, and ended up becoming a sustainability leader in the industry and consumer products. We had major players looking up to us as a small player in the industry.”
While Bradford, which is located at 200 Providence St. in West Warwick, may count among the smaller players in its sector, its customers have included nationally and globally recognized brands such as L’Oreal, Estée Lauder, Unilever and Tom’s of Maine, all the while “creating a bar that’s unique and distinctive,” Benton said.
That differed from the company’s previous approach, which primarily targeted hotels with commodity-grade soaps.
Founded in 1876, the company launched its “Committed to Clean” program in 2010, which implemented new standards that support green manufacturing and sustainable sourcing.
Bradford did not respond to a request for comment, and has not made information on who will lead the company readily available. Gemspring Capital Management also could not immediately be reached for comment.
Benton, a Massachusetts resident, left the role to take on a CFO position at Reiser, a food industry processing and packaging supplier based in Canton, Mass.
Jacquelyn Voghel is a PBN staff writer. You may reach her at Voghel@PBN.com.
Stu is a personal friend and I know Bradford will miss his leadership. We wish him and his family all the best in his new position with Reiser. Our industry has lost an exceptional leader. Gemsprings’ purchase of Bradford will insure the continued success of the wonderful legacy Bradford has cultivated over the past 148 years.