Middleby Acquires Follett

The Middleby Corp. has acquired Follett Corp., the Easton,, Pa., manufacturer of ice machines, ice and water dispensing equipment, ice storage and transport products and medical grade refrigeration products for the foodservice and healthcare industries. Follett has approximately $140 million in annual revenues. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“Follett offers unique product solutions to help customers improve safety, sanitation, labor productivity and water and electric usage,” said Selim Bassoul, Middleby’s Chairman and CEO. “Follett is a strategic fit with our growing beverage platform, complementing existing Middleby brands in a number of domestic and international market niches, and providing for opportunities to offer combined beverage and ice solutions.”

The family-owned Follett was founded in 1948, and has manufacturing operations in Easton and Bethlehem, Pa., and Gdansk, Poland. Follett’s new Horizon Elite ice machine received a 2016 Kitchen Innovations Award and was named by FCSI as runner-up to its 2016 Product of the Year.

Follett joins more than 40 other companies in Middleby’s stable of foodservice equipment brands; the Elgin, Ill., company also has more than a dozen food processing brands and 21 residential kitchen brands.