About Ludlow Composites Corp.
Crown Rubber Company
Crown Rubber Company was established in 1943 in Fremont, Ohio by Robert P. Johnson. Originally located on the 1600 block of Croghan Street in Fremont in a 31,000 square foot warehouse.
The primary function of the company was to mill rubber for the military services as a subcontractor to major rubber companies. After the war, Crown Rubber became a leading supplier of rubber stair treads and utility rubber mats.
In 1961the company relocated to the present facility in the Kessler Industrial Park in Fremont at 2100 Commerce Drive. Crown Rubber Company was the first company to build in the industrial park, with a 62,000 square foot facility.
Crown Rubber Company operated to manufacture primarily foam products that were utilized in shoe and women’s shapeware.
In the early 60’s Phyllis Diller a popular comedian became the spokeswomen for Crown’s Sculptafoam – a brassiere and swimsuit foam that maintained shape and color.
In 1963 Crown Rubber Company invented the vinyl foam anti-fatigue mat.
Crown Industries
In 1970 Crown Rubber Company was acquired by Ludlow Corp, a subsidiary of Tyco Corp. The company was renamed Crown Industries.
In 1976 the company closed the Croghan street operations and moved all manufacturing and office space to the industrial park where the facility is currently located at 2100 Commerce Drive.
Ludlow Composites Corp.
In 1984 the company was purchased from Ludlow Corp. with funding from Goergen and Sterling a Stamford, Connecticut, private equity firm and members of the management team. The company was renamed Ludlow Composited Corp., and Richard M. Steigerwald was named President and CEO.
Brand divisions for the matting and the foam operations were developed. The foam division operated under the Ludlow name and the matting division under Crown Mats and Matting.
1993 the company celebrated 50 years in business.
In 1994 the company expanded their operations to MatTech in Grandby, Quebec and opened a second manufacturing facility in the Kessler Industrial Park in Fremont.
Ludlow Composites Corp was awarded a patent for Zedlan Foam. In the same year purchased Mat-A-Dor Company out of Des Moines, Iowa and added fingertip mats to the product line.
In 2003 the company expanded the main facility and consolidated both operations in the industrial park to 2100 Commerce Drive.
In 2009 Ludlow Composited Corp. was named Ohio’s Exporter of the year for small to medium sized businesses.
In 2012 the company was purchased by Desco Capital, a private equity firm out of Columbus, Ohio.
The company rebranded the two operating divisions, the foam and matting divisions to Crown Matting Technologies and Crown Foam Technologies, and began operating the Ludlow name as the parent company.
Crown Matting Technologies was awarded NFSI certification for the ThermoGrip backing technology in 2019.
Ludlow Composites Corp. Today
Present day Ludlow Composites Corp. is still located at 2100 Commerce Drive. The facility has had a number of expansions totaling 185,000 square foot.
Rooted in the Community
Since 1943 Ludlow Composites Corp. has been rooted in the Fremont community and continues to invest and give back today. We are members of the Sandusky County Chamber of Commerce and Downtown Fremont. The company participates in many local charities and is an active donor to area youth sports.
