Swimways Corp., a Virginia Beach-based manufacturer of pool toys, announced the acquisition of Spongex, LLC, a maker of noodle-shaped floats and other foam pool products, from Nomaco Inc. While terms of the deal were not disclosed, the acquisition includes Spongex’s manufacturing plant and its 45 employees in Tarboro, N.C. Spongex is known for its Aqua Cell foam technology, an “exclusive and made-in-the-USA custom closed-cell foam molding process,” according to a company press release. “We are very excited to welcome the team from Spongex to the Swimways family,” stated Swimways’ President David Arias. “We anticipate that this excitement will resonate with our retailers, as well as consumers, as we gear up to bring innovation to the high performance Aqua Cell manufacturing technology.” Though the deal was effective Jan. 1, Spongex products will not be distributed under the SwimWays brand until 2015. Spongex products currently are sold at Sam’s Club, Frontgate, Leslie’s Poolmart and other specialty pool retailers.
