MUSCLE SHOALS — Robbins LLC has been purchased by a Swedish corporation but continues to operate with the same amount of workers and same product lines, officials said.

Hexpol A.B. has taken over operations of the plant, said Tom Scott, plant manager at Robbins’ local facility on Sixth Street.

Scott said the only difference thus far has been in some management positions.

“We’re still manufacturing the same thing we always have,” Scott said. “Nothing’s changed, we just have new owners.”

Robbins manufactures custom-mixed rubber compounds for manufacturers and fabricators, according to the Robbins website. The company specializes in products for the tire-retreading and custom-mixing industries.

The Malmo, Sweden-based Hexpol is the world’s largest rubber compounder, according to the trade website, RubberNews.com. The company paid $89.2 million for Robbins.

Along with the Muscle Shoals location, Robbins operates factories in Findlay, Ohio, and Tallapoosa, Ga., that are part of the purchase by Hexpol. Robbins has about 240 employees and estimated annual sales of about $100 million at the three plants, according to RubberNews.

Scott said about 110 employees are at the Muscle Shoals plant, which retained most of its former workers.

“There were some management changes when we first took over, but right now, we’re keeping things as they are,” Scott said.

Hexpol, which is organized into Hexpol Compounding and Hexpol Engineered Products, has production units in nine countries, according to the company’s website. The corporation has about 3,100 employees, mainly in Asia, the United States and Sweden.

Robbins had been owned by Grey Mountain Partners. The Colorado-based company purchased Robbins in 2007.

Founded by Stanley Robbins as Robbins Tire & Rubber Co. in 1921, the plant has a long history in the Shoals. It was purchased by Poncet Davis Sr. in the early 1940s, according to the Robbins website.

Bernie Delinski can be reached at 256-740-5739 or bernie.delinski@timesdaily.com.