By Marilyn Odendahl, Truth Staff
ELKHART -- The Little Trailer Co., maker of the signature "teardrop" trailer, is being acquired by a newly formed Texas company that is planning to enter the recreational vehicle market as both a manufacturer and supplier.
Exousia Advanced Materials Inc., based in El Campo, Texas, has signed a letter of intent to purchase Little Trailer, 2731 Jami Drive. Tom Pontius, co-founder of the Elkhart company, declined to comment until the transaction is completed.
Also, no one from Exousia could be reached for comment.
Along with acquiring an RV manufacturer, Exousia also is taking over Product Spectrum Group, 4251 Pine Creek Road, a maker of laminated walls, floors, rooftops and other structural components for the RV and cargo trailer industry.
As a company that uses plastics and rubber to create products, Exousia plans to make plastic pellets that will be used to create panels for the RVs, according to an Exousia filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Then PSG will laminate the panels and Little Trailer will utilize those panels in the construction of its trailers.
"We will not have to wait for another manufacturer to test and adopt our materials," Exousia executives stated in the SEC filing. "We will attempt to control the process by getting our materials into the market and onto the street faster. We hope that this will facilitate the sale of our materials and laminates to a number of other RV manufacturers."
This unique business plan was written by a company that has no experience in the RV industry.
Exousia Advanced Materials was formed when Cyber Law Reporter, which was planned to be an online legal information services company, and Exousia Corp. merged in 2006. The company has four employees and, as of Dec. 31, 2006, assets of $185,851 and liabilities of $754,822. Also at the end of December, 28.4 million shares of common stock were held by 68 shareholders.
Among the employees are J. Wayne Rodrigue, Exousia's founder and chief executive officer, and his wife, Brenda, principal chief accounting officer.
"With the key acquisitions of these two well-respected companies, we have established the fundamental groundwork for making Exousia a prominent player in the recreational vehicle industry," Wayne Rodrigue stated in a release announcing the intent to acquire Little Trailer.
Exousia's efforts are receiving assistance from the state of Indiana. In March, Elkhart's Economic Development Commission adopted a resolution approving the issuance of $6.5 million in state bonds to Exousia for the purchase of PSG. The City Council approved the ordinance to issue the bond on April 16.
As a part of the acquisition of PSG, Exousia anticipates paying up to $500,000 in cash to PSG's creditors and an undetermined one-time cash payment, according to the SEC document.
Exousia plans to expand PSG's current facilities by 20,000 square feet, according to a letter written by the Elkhart commission to the City Council. Along with keeping the current nine jobs, it will create eight new positions in the first year. Within three years, another 38 permanent full-time positions are expected to be added.
For Little Trailer, Exousia expects to pay $900,000 in cash, as reported in the SEC filing.