Industry people Appointments

LINKINGUP

ABB sells Thomas & Betts HVAC business to Nortek

ABB, the leading power and automation technology group, has completed the sale of Thomas & Betts’ heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) business to Nortek, Inc. The transaction closed for $260 million in an all-cash transaction.

The acquisition of Thomas & Betts in 2012 advanced ABB’s strategy of expanding the reach of its Low Voltage Products division into key geographies, sectors and products. By combining ABB’s lowvoltage protection, control and measurement products with Thomas & Betts’ electrical components, ABB has created a broader low-voltage offering with significant market access.

ABB has divested this business because of limited synergies with ABB’s core portfolio. ABB will continue to supply its high efficiency electrical motors and industry leading drives as well as its low voltage products range to the HVAC industry. Visit: www.abb.com

Beijer Electronics divests US Vehicle division

Beijer Electronics has divested its American Vehicle business – the supply of panels to various transportation segments – to Israeli company Micronet. The Vehicle business was originally a part of QSI Corporation that was acquired by Beijer Electronics in 2010. Beijer Electronics will continue to develop its US business by focusing on the sale of HMI panels to the industrial market. The size of this business is estimated to 150 MSEK in 2014.

The divestment is a consequence of the strategy to focus more resources on the global core business of Industrial HMIs. The Vehicle business had in 2013 revenues of 70 MSEK.

“Divesting the Vehicle business is the right thing to do from a strategic perspective. We want to focus our resources to drive the development of our core business within Industrial HMIs. Micronet has their core business in the Vehicle area and will be able to integrate the business and benefit from several synergies,” says Fredrik Jönsson, CEO and president of Beijer Electronics AB. Visit: www.beijerelectronics.se

European Commission clears proposed Solvay/INEOS joint venture

Solvay and INEOS have obtained European Commission clearance for their proposed 50/50 chlorvinyls joint venture.

Commission clearance is subject to implementation of an agreed remedy package comprising divestment of the following INEOS owned assets: the membrane chlorine plant and EDC/ VCM plants at Tessenderlo, Belgium; the PVC plant at Mazingarbe, France; the PVC plant at Beek, the Netherlands; the PVC and VCM plants at Wilhelmshaven, Germany; and the EDC plants at Runcorn, UK.

In addition, the Commission requires the membrane chlorine plant at Runcorn to be placed in a joint venture between the INEOS/ Solvay joint venture and the new owner of the aforementioned plants.

The required remedy package must be implemented before the joint venture can be formed. INEOS and Solvay will continue to run their businesses separately until completion of the transaction, which is expected in Q4 2014. Visit: www.solvay.com

Advent International sells Vinnolit to Westlake Chemical Corporation

Advent International has signed an agreement to sell Vinnolit Holdings GmbH, the worldwide leading manufacturer of speciality PVC, to Westlake Chemical Corporation. Westlake is an international manufacturer and supplier of petrochemicals, polymers and building products.

Dr Josef Ertl, managing director of Vinnolit, comments on behalf of the management board: “We have transformed Vinnolit into the leading speciality PVC manufacturer and remain dedicated to further growing the company’s business. We thank Advent for their support and strategic advice in developing Vinnolit and facilitating its successful transformation. We as a management team look forward to beginning a new chapter in our company’s history and continuing our successful growth path together with Westlake.”

With 1400 employees, Vinnolit now operates six state-of-the-art production platforms and in 2013 generated sales of €917 million. Visit: www.vinnolit.de