Comfort Research acquires certain assets of Spin Master

Jeff Werner. Courtesy Comfort Research

A bean bag and pool float manufacturer acquired Spin Master’s outdoor manufacturing operations in Tarboro, North Carolina, and certain product lines from Spin Master’s outdoor portfolio.

Grand Rapids-based Comfort Research said the acquisition closed Feb. 7. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Included in the sale is Spin Master’s high-performance Aquaria Swim Float line, featuring proprietary “aqua cell” technology designed to resist weather, aging, ultraviolet rays and water absorption.

Spin Master’s swim noodle products, including the Mega Noodle and Aqua Rider Squirter product line, also are included in the acquisition.

Spin Master’s 268,000-square-foot manufacturing plant, with capacity for over 18 million units per year, and a 90,000-square-foot distribution facility in Tarboro, North Carolina, are part of the acquisition, as well.

Comfort Research offered employment to workers in the two Tarboro facilities.

“This acquisition immediately expands our portfolio of swim products to meet the significant growth in demand from our customers and end consumers,” said Comfort Research CEO Jeff Werner.

Comfort Research CFO Scott Johnson said the deal was a strategic one.

“At Comfort Research, we have a history of delivering indoor and outdoor products to the largest retailers in the world and to an ever-expanding direct-to-consumer channel,” he said. “This acquisition also gives us additional new U.S.-based manufacturing technologies and will further leverage our national distribution model.”

Comfort Research

Co-founders Matt Jung and Chip George began making “affordable, fun furniture” from their college dorm in 1997. The company is best known for the Big Joe bean bag chair brand.

Comfort Research now has sold over 25 million units, with over 100 patents and trademarks, and it operates in three plants with more than 275 employees across the U.S.