3form Purchase Won’t Move It From Salt Lake City

By Linda Fantin, The Salt Lake Tribune

Mar. 14–A Salt Lake City company whose innovative resin panels decorate everything from concert halls to shower stalls is about to be acquired by Hunter Douglas NV, the world’s largest maker of window blinds.

The deal, the financial details of which were not disclosed, is expected to be completed today. Last year, 3form had sales totaling $48 million, according to a statement on the Hunter Douglas Web site.

The Netherlands-based company plans to retain the 3form brand and its management team, both of which were important negotiating points, said 3form CEO Talley Goodson.

“My overriding concern was to find a backer that would allow us to remain a Salt Lake City-based company and to operate independently,” Goodson said. “There will not be a single Hunter Douglas person at our facility” at 2300 W. 2300 South.

Another selling point is the Dutch company’s commitment to environmentalism and sustainability. Hunter Douglas is a member of the U.S. Green Building Council, the nation’s foremost coalition of leaders from across the building industry working to promote buildings that are environmentally responsible, profitable and healthy places to live and work. 3form’s EcoResin panels are recyclable and do not emit toxic chemicals when burned.

Ray Goodson founded 3form in 1991 under the name Simtec, but he had limited success marketing it in part because the products were marketed under another brand. That changed in 2002, when Goodson’s son, Talley, joined the company, changed the name, lured outside investors and began selling directly to the architectural and design market. In two years, the new CEO increased revenues from $3 million to $17 million. The company employs 310 people.

In Utah, 3form’s environmentally friendly panels are on display at Market Street Broiler, Xcel Spa & Fitness and Richter7. Nationally, they appear in many structures, including the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York, a San Francisco nightclub called Blush, and Treasure Island Hotel’s Tangerine Bar in Las Vegas.

Financial backers of 3form are the Goodson family, individual investors, Peterson Partners and another private equity firm from Massachusetts.

Goodson said he has fielded a number of inquiries about buying the business, but this is the first and only one he seriously considered. Hunter Douglas is a great company with factories around the world, he said.

“We’re not looking to cash out,” Goodson added. “But our existing investors have been involved about five years, and it’s about time to provide them with some liquidity.”

Hunter Douglas, which makes window coverings and architectural products, had sales of $2.6 billion in 2006, up 9.7 percent from the previous year. Profits grew 31 percent, from $198.7 million to $260.9 million. The company already has a plant in Utah and has hired 75 people in the Salt Lake area since June, bringing the number of employees to about 400. It plans to hire another 100 or so by the end of the year to accommodate an expansion.

The company is building a $17 million, 240,000-square-foot facility on nearly 21 acres at Salt Lake City’s Bonneville Center west of the airport.

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