Industrial PowerSource Inc., a distributor and servicer of industrial batteries, has been acquired by Crown Battery Manufacturing Co.

Industrial PowerSource, based in Santa Fe Springs, will continue to operate under its name and will be a subsidiary of Crown. Its 25 employees are expected to stay on and add to Crown’s 550. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“We are the largest supplier for Crown’s batteries in Southern California, in fact 90 percent of our business came through them,” said Industrial PowerSource Chief Executive Bill Brooks.

Brooks, 59, started the company in 2002 with around eight employees. The company grew over time and distributed industrial batteries, most supplied by Crown.

“Our business encompasses the areas from Bakersfield to Las Vegas to Baja California and everything in between, that’s our base,” he said.

The company’s revenue is in the $6 million-$8 million range, he added.

Industrial PowerSource distributes and services batteries and chargers for forklift trucks and other material handling equipment. Brooks estimates that more than 95 percent of his customers are forklift companies.

Crown, based in Fremont, Ohio, is a manufacturer and supplier of batteries used in material handling, renewable energy, electric vehicles, commercial trucks, mining, and railroad, according to its website.

“We are excited, this will lead to some good things for Crown Battery as it extends its footprint on the West Coast,” said Josh Taft, general manager at Industrial PowerSource.

Brooks will continue in a leadership capacity but will not have the title of chief executive. Think of me as the branch manager, he said.

The companies have worked with each other for the past 15 years and the acquisition will also give Crown a 20,000-square-foot factory in Santa Fe Springs.

– Shwanika Narayan