Kolmar Laboratories of Victoria Street has been sold to a quartet of Canadian owners, including its current president, Steve Blanchet. The company will now be known as CSR Cosmetic Solutions.

In Barrie for more than 50 years, Kolmar has had several owners during its lifetime. Most recently, it was operated by Outsourcing Services Group (OSG), a privately owned, New York-based equity firm, Blanchet says. OSG had purchased Kolmar in 1998.

“We closed the deal with OSG last Thursday afternoon,” Blanchet says. “OSG announced it was divesting itself of its plants about a year ago. The deal was quite active the last three months of 2007.

It’s a great news story for the former Kolmar to be now owned by Canadians. It allows us to grow the business in new areas. Over the next three to five years, the intention is to refocus the business on our core strengths – colour cosmetics such as lipsticks, eye shadows, mascara, skin crèmes and lotions. We will rejuvenate that base, enhance our customer base and move into new markets.”

“We would like to increase that,” Blanchet says. “Despite the impact of the exchange rate, we know our expenditures in capital investment, research and development and sales and marketing will help us achieve our growth objectives.”

“The reception we’ve had from our staff is exceptionally exciting,” he says. “People are looking forward to the new opportunity. We’re also challenging the trend of manufacturers closing, especially in Barrie. We have definitive plans to grow. It’s good news for our 220 employees, the city and our customers.”

“We’ve done a very thorough examination of the economy and our sales and customer base. By doing the right thing, this company will continue to be successful. We are still one of the largest companies in Barrie. It had been for sale for a while. It’s important to let people know there was a happy end to the story.”