AWI Expands Exterior Architectural Metal Capabilities with Acquisition of A. Zahner Company

Armstrong elevates and expands capabilities to design, engineer, and fabricate unique and extraordinary architectural metal solutions

LANCASTER, Pa. — World Industries announced that it has acquired A. Zahner Company. Based in Kansas City, Mo., Zahner is a widely recognized leader in the design, engineering, and fabrication of highly crafted, complex architectural metal solutions and products. Zahner's advanced metal surfaces and engineering systems are unique in the industry and have been used in some of the most iconic commercial buildings, cultural centers, and other structures in North America and beyond.

“We are thrilled to welcome Zahner and its talented team to the Armstrong family. Over the last decade, Armstrong has developed and acquired world-class metal design and manufacturing capabilities for interior ceilings and specialty walls. The addition of Zahner allows us to further expand into the highly specifiable, exterior architectural metal category,” said Vic Grizzle, President and CEO, Armstrong World Industries. “This acquisition represents a rare opportunity to connect two complementary companies with long, proven legacies of integrity, innovation, and excellence in quality and service. With Zahner, we have dramatically elevated and expanded our capabilities to design, engineer, and fabricate truly unique, high-design architectural metal projects. Providing a broad, growing portfolio of specifiable materials and solutions to enable architects and designers to bring their most creative visions into reality—inside and outside a building—is a clear differentiator for Armstrong.”

Close collaboration ensures delivery of design intent
A pioneer in the use of metal in architecture, Zahner is renowned for its collaborative design and metal fabrication capabilities for large and complex projects. The company’s unique knowledge of computational design, metal finishing, and versatile engineering systems enables architects’ highly imaginative ideas to become incredible realities through the mindful use of crafted metals. Zahner’s process begins at the inception of a project through close collaboration with architects, designers, artists, and other partners to ensure the delivery of design intent with manufacturability and long-term performance integrity. The work of Zahner has shaped some of the most recognized places and spaces in the United States, including SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif., the Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles, Calif., IBM’s corporate headquarters in Armonk, N.Y., and the Bloomberg Center in New York City.

“We are excited to join Armstrong World Industries and look forward to the opportunities this presents for our people and clients,” said William Zahner, CEO of Zahner. “I am confident that together with Armstrong we can accelerate our growth with a partner that shares common values, led by a focus on innovative design and client satisfaction. This begins a new chapter in an ongoing story of applying innovation and collaboration to build the incredible.”

Zahner was founded as a sheet metal fabricator of cornices in 1897 by Andrew Zahner. It has expanded under the Zahner family leadership to become the premier designer and manufacturer of exceptional, high-design architectural metal solutions. The business comprises production facilities in Missouri and Texas with approximately 160 employees, including experts in metallurgy, structural and mechanical engineering, and complex project management.