FAIRFIELD — Weaton Companies in Fairfield added to its repertoire of companies in 2023 when it acquired Bovard Studios, Inc.

Bovard Studios specializes in creating, restoring and preserving stained-glass windows in sacred and historical buildings across the country. For more than 20 years, Bovard Studios has operated from its location east of Fairfield on Business 34. It was founded in 1985 by Ron Bovard, and it undertook a major expansion of its own in 2021, adding a 12,000-square-foot building to its campus where it fabricates frames. It added new equipment such as new saws, frame-bending equipment, and a new paint booth.

Nate Weaton, CEO of Weaton Companies, said in a news release that Bovard Studios was a great fit with the other entities that comprise Weaton Companies.

“Much of our purpose is serving the needs of the industrial, architectural and construction communities and a core skill of our team is efficiently delivering complex, custom projects,” Weaton said. “Adding custom stained-glass and commercial framing capabilities to our family of branded products just made sense.”

Bovard Studios joins Weaton Companies’ other ventures, which are Creative Edge, U.S. Waterjet, ToolKeepers Foam & Etch, Terrazzo Tek and Honeycorr. Weaton said Bovard Studios will be able to serve its customers even better than before through the use of the advanced manufacturing techniques of these other companies.

“We are excited to complement the passionate work of Ron and Fran Bovard and the entire team,” Weaton said. “Our combined efforts will assure a growing commitment to the preservation of America’s stained-glass heritage and enhance Weaton Companies ability to serve as a premier supplier of custom projects to the architecture and design community.”

Bovard Studios employs consultants, artists, fabricators, and installers. Its patented window framing and glazing system has earned the company many awards including the prestigious Lucy G. Moses Preservation Award in 2020.

The sale of Bovard Studios to Weaton Companies was finalized on April 1. Weaton said Ron Bovard is still around to provide advice during this transition to new ownership.

“I love to have an ongoing relationship with the founders of a company,” Weaton said. “I think that’s important. They might not be as active as before, but to have them around and to have their counsel is invaluable to us.”

Weaton noted he’s already gone through a similar transition, when Weaton Companies purchased Creative Edge from Jim Belilove in 2018.

“One of our core values is valuing the founder’s legacy,” Weaton said.

Weaton said showing a founder that he cares about continuing the business’s success is key in establishing a good relationship.

“When we buy a business, we are interested in owning that business for the long-term,” Weaton said. “We’re interested in investing in the employees, the equipment and the business to make it grow.”

Weaton Companies manages six “brands” in all, each of them involved in manufacturing. ToolKeepers Foam & Etch produces tool kits and tool trays, and one of its biggest customers is the Department of Defense. Honeycorr does industrial work that includes framing, packaging and distribution. Creative Edge produces high-end stone and custom flooring, and it has produced two spinoff brands. U.S. Waterjet is one of those, and it uses the company’s patented water jet technology to make metal products. Terrazzo Tek is the other one, which was created specifically for the terrazzo industry.

“Terrazzo is an old Italian artisan trade, and it’s done primarily in airports, hospitals and schools,” Weaton said.

Apart from acquiring new businesses and creating spinoff brands, Weaton Companies has been busy remodeling its plant on South 23rd Street. Remodeling was done over a 2-3 year period from 2019-2021 that included a full renovation of the building, plus a new parking lot, new LED lights, and remodeling the offices.

“We’re pretty excited about what the guys have done on the floor, because it’s more open and it has such a better flow for manufacturing purposes,” Weaton said. “It’s been a really good thing for us.”

Weaton said that he has leased space in the building before to other tenants, but he won’t continue that because the acquisition of Bovard Studios has created a greater demand for space.

When he is not running his company, Weaton enjoys spending time with his wife Lori Schaefer-Weaton, the president of Agri-Industrial Plastics, and children Cami, Jack Abby, Max and Sam. Weaton is especially busy in the fall, leading Fairfield High School’s football team as its head coach. Weaton refers to that as his “other full-time job.”

“You don’t get to do things outside of your business unless you have a really good team here, and I’ve been blessed to be surrounded by great people across the organization,” he said. “They’re really good at what they do, and understand our desire to not just be business people but to be part of our community.”