Boedecker buys Crocs Canada assets

BOULDER – George Boedecker Jr., a co-founder and former chief executive of Crocs Inc., and a group of private investors have purchased the assets of Crocs Canada Inc.

Boedecker, from Boulder, and his team of investors will rename the business Foam Creations 2008 Inc. Prior to becoming Crocs Canada in 2004, the company’s original name was Foam Creations Inc.

This past April, Crocs (NASDAQ: CROX) ceased shoe manufacturing at the Quebec City, Canada-based facility, resulting in the loss of about 600 jobs. According to Kelly Gray, a spokesman for Foam Creations, the company will retain the 30 remaining employees at the 33,000-square-foot facility.

In addition to the purchase of all assets, Boedecker has a licensing agreement with Crocs to use its Croslite material – the polymer used in the Niwot-based company’s shoes. Foam Creations will not make shoes, but it has not been decided what its product line will be.

“That particular polymer has a wide variety of uses. It hasn’t been determined down to the product, but there is a wide range of products that can be manufactured. Everything from foam covers to medical supplies,´ said Dave Boylan, a spokesman with the company.

He added that the company is not disclosing its distribution channels.

“The team and I couldn’t be more excited about the opportunities we see with this acquisition,” Boedecker said, in a statement. “The applications for this amazing polymer are endless, and we see expansion into a multitude of industries and emerging markets as the next big thing.”

While Crocs Canada, the facility produced 14,000 shoes per day and accounted for about 5 million pairs of shoes per year, according to a company statement. Crocs closed the facility due to the “higher cost of manufacturing in Canada,” the company told the Business Report in April.

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