Ft Lauderdale (FL) and Bethlehem (PA), November 9, 2010 -- Q’Straint and Sure-Lok announced their merger today, creating a combined company that will be positioned as the leading provider of Wheelchair Passenger Safety Systems. The terms of the merger were not disclosed.
The merger of Q’Straint and Sure-Lok brings together the two leading wheelchair securement organizations serving the transportation industry. Both companies share a common vision and service model to provide the highest quality products and services for their customers. The combination of these two organizations will create a company well positioned for a challenging economy and increasingly competitive global industry.
Together, they bring more than 50 years of industry expertise and market knowledge. Customers and partners of Q’Straint and Sure-Lok will continue to experience the same personalized service they have come to expect from both companies, while gaining from their collective expertise and innovation. In addition, both product lines will continue to be sold and supported as they have been in the past.
Both organizations are committed to keeping their current focus, while thoughtfully integrating into one organization that will benefit its customers, employees and partners. The combined company of Q’Straint and Sure-Lok will look to continually improve and adopt the best practices from each organization in Safety, Customer Service, Innovation and Quality.
"In order to make this merger successful, it’s absolutely critical to us that we maintain a customer focus, and they experience the benefits of this merger.” said Jean-Marc Girardin. “We know actions speak louder than words, and look forward to the opportunity to prove ourselves!” added Robert Joseph.
In the near term, Jean-Marc Girardin will remain President of Q’Straint. Robert Joseph will remain President of Sure-Lok and will also assume the newly created role as VP Business Development for the combined organization. Other changes regarding the merger will be announced and updated at www.QSLMerger.com, the dedicated website that will feature merger-related information throughout the process.
About Q’Straint, ULC
Q’Straint was established in 1984 with a license from Queen’s University for the first integrated 4-point wheelchair passenger securement system. Since then they have brought new innovations and ideas to the industry, including the sled testing of wheelchair securements and the first self-tensioning, self-locking automatic retractor. They currently sell in over 50 countries and are headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, FL with additional facilities serving Canada, Europe, Asia and Oceania.
About Sure-Lok
Sure-Lok has been under the leadership of Robert Joseph since 1998. Formerly a division of Kinedyne Corporation, Mr. Joseph separated the company into its own identity in order to better serve the needs of their customers and have since moved into a new dedicated facility in Bethlehem, PA. Sure-Lok’s achievements have set standards within the industry as they were the first to develop and manufacture L Track and A Track wheelchair securement systems and engineer an extensive line of occupant restraint systems.