6 minute read
Linking up Combining strengths
NEWS
Combining strengths
Alfa Laval acquires leading wastewater treatment company
Alfa Laval – a world leader in heat transfer, centrifugal separation and fluid handling – has acquired Ashbrook Simon-Hartley, a leading provider of belt filter presses, which is a complement and alternative to Alfa Laval’s decanter range in the dewatering of municipal and industrial wastewater. Ashbrook Simon-Hartley is headquartered in Houston, Texas, USA, with offices in the UK, Chile and Brazil, and has an installed base in many countries around the world.
Lars Renström, president and CEO of the Alfa Laval Group, comments on the acquisition: “I’m very pleased that we have been able to acquire Ashbrook Simon-Hartley. With this acquisition we are adding a complementary and expanded range of products and solutions, further strengthening our offer for municipal and industrial wastewater treatment applications.”
The intention is to integrate Ashbrook SimonHartley into Alfa Laval. The company will be consolidated into Alfa Laval from 1 August 2012. Visit: www.alfalaval.com
Siemens and HMK announce new partnership deal
Siemens Drive Technologies, a division of Siemens Industry sector, has announced an extension to its strategic partnership with HMK Technical Services Ltd to cover Siemens low voltage motors and drives. HMK can now offer OEMs a complete drive train solution from Siemens for increased project efficiency. The appointment of HMK, based in Congleton, as an official OEM partner for Siemens low voltage motors follows the existing partnership’s success to date. In the first quarter of 2012, Siemens celebrated hitting £1 million worth of growth for its motion control business as a result of its collaboration with HMK. HMK fully supports the specification and installation of all the solutions it offers from Siemens. This means there is now one point of contact for all OEMs looking for complete drive train solutions.
Ian Welsh, Siemens Drive Technologies, comments: “Extending our long-standing partnership with HMK is testament to its success and our drive to ensure our solutions meet our customers’ needs in a challenging marketplace.” Visit: www.siemens.com
AB Volvo divests Volvo Aero to British GKN
AB Volvo has divested its subsidiary Volvo Aero to the global engineering company GKN for an enterprise value of SEK 6.9 billion. The transaction is scheduled for completion during the third quarter of 2012.
AB Volvo carried out discussions with a number of potential buyers. “Volvo Aero has attracted considerable interest, but in our opinion, GKN can offer the best conditions for Volvo Aero’s future advancement,” says Olof Persson. “This transaction will improve our chances to further refine and develop our core business in commercial vehicles, while providing Volvo Aero with an owner that has both the drive and the capacity to advance and strengthen the company.”
GKN plc is a global engineering company serving the automotive, aerospace and land systems markets. Based in Great Britain, it has operations in more than 30 countries and around 45,000 employees in subsidiaries and joint ventures. Visit: www.volvogroup.com
BASF sells marine biopolymers business to Seagarden ASA
BASF SE and the Norwegian company Seagarden ASA have signed a contract to transfer the Chitosan marine biopolymers business from the former Cognis. Chitosan marine biopolymers are used in personal care products and as pharmaceutical ingredients. The transaction is expected to be formally completed by August 2012. The divestment of the Chitosan business from the former Cognis results from the portfolio optimisation following the acquisition of Cognis by BASF in 2010. The Chitosan business, including the production site in Tromsoe, Norway, will be owned by the Norwegian specialist for natural seafood ingredients, marine bioactives and biopolymers, Seagarden SAS, through its subsidiary Chitinor AS. The customers have been informed accordingly and conditions have been fixed to ensure supply reliability through the transition. Visit: www.basf.com
LINKINGUP
DSM to acquire Tortuga to strengthen animal nutrition business
Royal DSM, the global Life Sciences and Materials Sciences company, has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Tortuga Companhia Zootécnica Agrária (Tortuga) in an all-cash transaction for a total enterprise value of about €465 million (BRL 1160 million). Tortuga, a privately held Brazilian company, is a leader in nutritional supplements with a focus on pasture raised beef and dairy cattle. The company is headquartered in Sao Paulo, Brazil with approximately 1200 employees. Tortuga has three production sites in Brazil. Net sales for 2012 are expected at about €385 million. The acquisition of Tortuga allows DSM to capture value from its extended value chain presence with a broad portfolio of nutritional ingredients for animal nutrition, while leveraging its strong international footprint. The acquisition of Tortuga will broaden DSM’s ingredient portfolio to include organic trace minerals and will allow DSM to become a full animal nutrition solution provider. Tortuga will strengthen DSM’s presence in nutritional supplements and additives for ruminants and is expected to accelerate revenue growth through leveraging Tortuga’s know-how and strong position in ruminant supplements in other ruminants markets in Latin America and around the world. Visit: www.dsm.com
Gunnebo acquires the Hamilton Safe Companies
The Gunnebo Security Group has signed an agreement with the main shareholders to acquire all the shares in the US’s second largest producer and supplier of physical security products to banks and government, Hamilton Safe Companies.
“The acquisition of Hamilton is very much in line with Gunnebo’s strategic agenda,” says Gunnebo’s president & CEO, Per Borgvall. “First of all, Hamilton is a quality business with an EBIT-margin above Gunnebo’s financial targets. The acquisition is expected to make a positive contribution to Gunnebo’s earnings before interest and tax, as well as a marginal positive impact on earnings per share, for 2012.”
Hamilton’s product portfolio includes safes, safe deposit lockers, vaults, vault doors, entrance control systems and point-to-point air transport systems, all produced in Hamilton’s five production units. Sales are predominantly carried out through a well-developed nationwide network of distributors. The purchase price is MUSD 65 on a debt and cash free basis. Hamilton Safe Companies will be consolidated into Gunnebo’s Business Area Bank Security & Cash Handling. Visit: www.gunnebogroup.com
Per Borgvall
Sagem and MTU Aero Engines create new joint venture
Sagem (Safran group) and MTU Aero Engines have announced the signature of an agreement to form a 50/50 joint venture, AES Aerospace Embedded Solutions GmbH, to provide safety-critical software and hardware for military and civil aviation applications. The agreement was signed by Philippe Petitcolin, Chairman and CEO of Sagem (Safran group), and Egon Behle, CEO of MTU Aero Engines, in a ceremony also attended by Jean-Paul Herteman, chairman and CEO of the Safran group.
AES will deploy some 200 engineers, primarily from MTU Aero Engines but also some from Safran. Its main products will include control systems for engines such as the TP400-D6 turboprop powering the Airbus A400M military transport, as well as other safety-critical hardware and software solutions such as controls for landing gear, braking, monitoring and information systems. AES will consolidate its skills and expertise by calling on the Safran Electronics division of Sagem, which will provide its full support and access to its large portfolio of onboard electronics. Visit: www.mtu.de
Molecular Profiles, a leading specialist contract research and manufacturing organisation, has entered into a strategic alliance with Onyx Scientific, a contract manufacturing organisation offering chemistry services to large and emerging pharmaceutical and biotech companies worldwide. The partnership enables the two companies to deliver end-to-end services from initial drug discovery through to early and late phase manufacturing.
The newly formed alliance means that customers of both Molecular Profiles and Onyx Scientific will have access to a wider range of services with the added benefit of a consistent team and delivery. The complementary alliance benefits from Onyx Scientific’s specialism in active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) production and initial solid state screening, combined with Molecular Profiles’ expertise in formulation and analytical development and early phase clinical trial manufacturing.Customers can expect a seamless and fully integrated service throughout the full drug discovery, development and manufacturing process. Visit: www.molprofiles.co.uk
