Tico Industries has divested the Tico Electrical Metal Products division, which includes Allied Tube & Conduit, Harvey, Ill. Private equity company CD&R has purchased 51 percent equity in the business unit and launched a standalone company, Atkore International.

Atkore officials say customers won’t notice changes in the way Allied Tube and other companies will operate under the new ownership. All of the brands will continue to operate under their former names, and the sales and managements staffs at each facility have been retained.

“From a customer perspective, it’s status quo. They won’t see a lot of changes there,” says Dan Kuzniewski, director of marketing communications. “Everything they’re used to seeing will be the same.”

But Kuzniewski says the new operation will eventually pay dividends for Allied Tube. 

“As a standalone company, we will determine our own strategy as it relates specifically to our business. As part of a conglomerate, part of your strategy is determined by where the parent company wants to go with the business,” he says. “As Atkore, we can concentrate on what is our business day-to-day, and not have to be a part of a shared strategy of a larger parent company.”