CHICAGO (July 14, 2:15 p.m. EDT) — Xaloy Inc. and its sister company Berna AG are combining into one organization to operate globally, Xaloy announced during NPE in Chicago.
The two majors in screws, barrels and related machinery will operate as Xaloy AG with two divisions, Xaloy Plastification Systems and Ion Bond, which provides steel treating services. The combination will be a "unique global partner for the plastics industry," said Walter Cox, chief executive officer of Xaloy Plastification and its U.S. business Xaloy Inc. of Pulaski, Va.
The combination will provide standardization and sharing of best practices among Xaloy and the former Berna. Xaloy previously focused on North America and Asia, while Berna of Olten, Switzerland, mainly sold in Europe. The combination will be effective July 1.
Cox said combining the two companies follows the trend toward mergers and globalization among plastics equipment makers, resin companies, processors and their customers.
Xaloy Plastification also will expand its product offerings to include complete plastification systems and engineering services.
"Xaloy plasticating systems allow builders of molding machines and extruders to reduce assembly time, shrink inventory and avoid the costs and hassle of coordinating part deliveries from multiple suppliers," according to Gunther Hoyt, vice president of marketing for Xaloy. A complete assembly could include the barrel, screw, tip, nozzle, heaters, thermocouples and wiring.
Xaloy has been owned by Saurer AG since 1991. Berna was already a Saurer subsidiary at that time. Saurer´s other major businesses are textile machinery and vehicle transmissions. It had sales of about $934 million last year.
Xaloy AG had pro forma sales of about $80 million last year. It has $41 million invested in machinery and facilities and employs 673. It serves more than 4,000 customers worldwide, including original equipment manufacturers and processors. Cox claims the company is four times bigger than its nearest competitor. It has total capacity at five manufacturing plants in the United States, Switzerland and Thailand to make 18,770 finished barrels and 8,733 finished screws annually.
Cox said Xaloy is investing about $5 million in a new plant in Seabrook, N.H., to replace its Newburyport, Mass., plant. It will relocate the operation in the first quarter of 2001. The company also plans to expand its Chon Buri, Thailand, plant within 1½ years because of high growth in Asian markets. Xaloy opened the plant a year ago.