Roger Crawford, principal stockholder of Thermoguard Equipment Inc., a Spokane manufacturer of equipment for the corrugated box industry, is negotiating the possible sale of the company to H Enterprises, a Minneapolis company that also serves that industry.


Both companies are proceeding with due diligence work, and if all goes well, the sale should be effective July 1, says James Weissenfels, Thermoguards president and general manager.


If the acquisition proceeds, Weissenfels says the Spokane operation would retain both its name and its about 200 employees. It also would continue to operate out of its location at 5303 E. Desmet, he says.


We would continue to operate just as we always have, he says. There might be some limited restructuring, but it would be minor. Weissenfels says that he might not retain his current position, but plans to remain with the company.


Thermoguard hasnt pursued the companys sale to H Enterprises because of any financial difficulties or other troubles, Weissenfels says. He says the Spokane company is doing well and currently is in a growth mode.


This is about growth and better service coverage, Weissenfels said in a press release about the potential acquisition.


H Enterprises owns J&L Industries, a Keithville, La.-based maker of specialty equipment that folds and glues corrugated paper for boxes. J&L Industries has worked with Thermoguard in the past on product development and marketing. The two companies also recently agreed to market jointly in Europe the products of both companies, and are working together on the development of a new automated take-off system for specialty folder-gluers, Weissenfels says.


Thermoguard makes a line of equipment, including what are known in the industry as prefeeders, load formers, die-cut stackers, counter ejectors, and bundle breakers, all of which are used to make corrugated cardboard boxes.


The company originally was part of Thermoguard Co., a manufacturer of cellulose insulation and machines used to make the insulation. That company was founded by Roger Crawford in 1953.


In 1983, a businessman named Dave Shill, who later served as Thermoguard Equipments vice president until his retirement in the mid-1990s, approached Crawford with the idea of making automated equipment for the corrugated box industry. Thermoguard Co. began doing that, and three years later Crawford formed a separate company, Thermoguard Equipment, to handle the manufacturing of that equipment.