Steelite acquires The Homer Laughlin China Company and Hall China Company Foodservice Operations
Fiesta Dinnerware brand has been rebranded as The Fiesta Tableware
Company following Steelite’s acquisition of the former Homer Laughlin
China Company foodservice operations.
“In an ever-evolving business environment, opportunities present
themselves for companies to transform and grow through strategic
planning and decisive action,†says Elizabeth McIlvain, President of The
Fiesta Tableware Company. “The timing was right for us. We have made a
bold move to redouble our retail efforts and to free up needed resources
to achieve our retail goals.â€
Steelite is assuming manufacturing and sales responsibilities for
the two foodservice brands: the Homer Laughlin China Company and the
Hall China Company. The existing Fiesta retail business is not part of
the sale. This does not have any effect on the Fiesta brand, which was
manufactured by The Homer Laughlin China Company since 1936. The Fiesta
Tableware Company will continue to operate in Newell, WV, as a
retail-only tabletop and giftware manufacturer. In addition to the
Fiesta brand, The Fiesta Tableware Company also will manufacture and
sell other tableware designs to the retail market.
“With the ability to focus exclusively on the retail side of our
business, we are poised to exploit new opportunities for growth in the
marketplace, further develop our private label and OEM programs, offer
more exclusive pieces for our retail partners, provide a more robust
product assortment to our entire retail customer base, seek out new
retail partners, and expand our relationships with existing retail and
OEM partners,†says Rich Brinkman, VP, Sales & Marketing of The
Fiesta Tableware Company.
The company remains committed to continuing to manufacture Fiesta and
its expanding product collection in Newell, WV, as it has been since
1936. This focus exclusively on retail products frees up much needed
production time to answer previous challenges in special retail markets.
“We’ll be better equipped to increase retail delivery speed and
frequency,†Brinkman adds. “We’ll definitely be more nimble than we’ve
been in the past.â€
