Krupp Kunststofftechnik GmbH of Essen, Germany, has purchased another German blow molding machinery maker, Battenfeld Fischer Blasformtechnik GmbH in Troisdorf. Battenfeld Fischer makes extrusion blow molding machines, including machines with accumulator heads, in Troisdorf. The company employs 250 and has global sales of about $60 million a year.
The sale of the Troisdorf factory marks Battenfeld's complete exit from blow molding machinery production. Earlier this year, Battenfeld's U.S. blow molding unit in Boonton, N.J., sold the Hartig line of blow molding machines and the FHB bottle manufacturing lines to Davis-Standard Corp. of Pawcatuck, Conn.
Battenfeld Fischer's parent, Battenfeld GmbH, will expand its activities in injection molding, extruders and film and sheet production machines, concentrating on the Asian markets. A Battenfeld spokeswoman said the company would release more details at the Interplas 96 show Nov. 10-14 in Birmingham, England.
Krupp announced its plans to buy Battenfeld Fischer Oct. 30. Pending approval by the German government, Krupp plans to take over the firm's business activities Jan. 1. Terms were not disclosed.
Krupp Kunststofftechnik, part of the Krupp Hoesch Maschinenbau Group, has around 2,000 employees with sales of about $390 million.
A Krupp spokesman said the deal includes W. Miller long-stroke blow molding machines, which Battenfeld picked up when it acquired W. Miller GmbH last year. Krupp will make those machines under a separate department called Fischer-W. Miller Blasformtechnik GmbH, also at Troisdorf.
Krupp serves the U.S. market through Krupp Plastics and Rubber Machinery Inc. in Edison, N.J. John Antonopoulos, president of that U.S. unit, was traveling and not available to comment.