WESTLAKE, OHIO (Sept. 4, 12:45 p.m. ET) — Nordson Corp. has bought Plymouth, Mich.-based Sealant Equipment & Engineering Inc., which makes metering, mixing and dispensing equipment and valves. The equipment is used to apply one-, two- and three-component adhesive, sealant and lubricating materials, with the polyurethane industry being a major customer.
The purchase continues Westlake-based Nordson’s push into plastics-related businesses. The companies did not reveal terms of the transaction.
Nordson said the SE&E business had sales of $18 million for the year ended June 30, and employs 60. In future it will operate as part of Nordson’s Industrial Coating Systems segment.
“Sealant Equipment & Engineering provides Nordson with a broader presence in the cold materials equipment market and focuses on a wide variety of general industry applications including aerospace and transportation, building and construction, medical, alternative energy and many others,” said Nordson President and CEO Michael Hilton, in a news release.
Hilton said SE&E is “an excellent complement to Nordson’s existing cold material equipment offering,” adding that it also adds additional capability in a segment the group sees as attractive.
Nordson also sees the chance to exploit its global infrastructure “to grow the business beyond its current, largely North American footprint.”
Nordson makes products and systems used for dispensing and processing adhesives, coatings, sealants, biomaterials and plastics, fluid management, test and inspection, UV curing and plasma surface treatment.
Nordson bought screw and barrel maker Xaloy Inc. and flat-die builder Extrusion Dies Industries Inc. earlier this summer, and Hilton told analysts on June 26 that the company was looking for additional acquisition targets.
“We like the base business, the organic growth prospects. But there is also potential to add to our portfolio in this space as the strategy gets fully integrated and we have opportunities there,” Hilton said in a conference call.
Nordson’s move to build a plastics group began last year. The company bought a Belgian flat-die maker, Constructiewerkhuizen G. Verbruggen NV. Nordson also bought Value Plastics Inc., an injection molder of single-use medical fittings in Fort Collins, Colo.
Nordson is traded publicly traded on Nasdaq and reported 2011 sales of $1.2 billion.
