Pipe maker Candover acquired by investor
LONDON - Candover Investments plc has purchased undersea pipe producer Wellstream International Ltd. for $136 million.
Wellstream is based in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, and has plants there and in Panama City, Fla.
With its new financial backing, Wellstream said it expects to grow strongly, benefiting from the need for flexible offshore pipelines to access fresh oil and gas reserves, particularly off Brazil and West Africa.
``The market is growing and the company should be able to get more work,'' said Candover investment manager Nils Stoesser. ``In the first few months we will be making sure there is enough capacity to meet the order books going forward.''
Candover is based in London.
Wellstream was founded in 1983 as Flexpipe International Inc. The company employs about 600 and makes multilayer nylon, PVC and high density polyethylene pipe, reinforced with steel. The company spools its product onto pipe-laying ships that can moor beside its headquarters facility.
Candover bought Wellstream from Houston-based Halliburton Co. Former Wellstream Chief Executive Officer Gordon Chapman heads the new management team.
The new owner wants to bring the two formerly independent units on either side of the Atlantic under a single management, Stoesser said.
``Over the next few years, there is expected to be a significant increase in spending on the offshore oil and gas sector,'' Chapman said.
``This presents us with significant opportunities for growth and offers our customers the chance to use our flexible pipe technology, and to access oil and gas reservoirs in increasing water depths.''
Bank One Corp. unit to purchase Mauser
BRÜHL, GERMANY - One Equity Partners, the investment arm of Bank One Corp., is buying Mauser-Werke GmbH & Co. KG, which makes industrial packaging and blow molding machinery. Terms were not disclosed.
The deal is subject to regulatory approval in Germany, according to Bruhl-based Mauser.
Mauser, which is a major producer of intermediate bulk containers, reported 2002 sales of $324 million.
``Following the merger with OEP, Mauser plans to press ahead on its international course. The company is now in a promising position to take advantage of the anticipated consolidation of the industry,'' the company said in a news release. ``Within the industrial packaging market, the plastic packaging and IBC segment in particular are experiencing above-average growth rates.''
Mauser has five packaging plants: four in Europe, plus Vanguard Container Corp. in East Brunswick, N.J. The parent company also makes blow molded bottles, waste bins, drums and tanks. The company also does injection and rotational molding.
The company's plastics machinery builder is Mauser Machinentechnik GmbH. The Bruhl-based unit makes extrusion blow molding equipment.
Mauser also has metal packaging operations in Germany, France, Italy and Turkey, plus joint venture businesses in Italy, Tunisia and Senegal.
New York-based One Equity Partners already has a foothold in Germany, thanks to its ownership of the Howaldtswerke Deutsche Werft AG shipyards in Kiel.
Molder Advent adds 1000-ton Engel press
Precision injection molder Advent Tool & Mold Inc. has added a 1,000-ton press to its fleet and now is seeking out additional contracts to fill its production potential.
Advent, based in Rochester, N.Y., now has 30 presses, with clamping forces ranging from 28 tons to the newly refurbished, 1,000-ton Engel press. It also has added six people to its staff of 125 during the past few months, said Larry Lehning, sales and marketing manager.
The firm has its own in-house design and mold-making shop and specializes in complex functional components for the auto industry, with overmolding, insert molding and multishot production.
Vyncolit launches N. American center
FARMINGTON HILLS, MICH. - Thermoset resin supplier Vyncolit NV of Gent, Belgium, has launched a technical market development center dedicated to the North American auto industry in Farmington Hills.
The center includes 6,300 square feet of manufacturing space, three injection molding presses and another 3,100 square feet of office for Vyncolit's U.S. group, Vyncolit North America Inc. Vyncolit is a subsidiary of Perstorp Group's engineering material division.
The presses - with clamping forces of 60-160 tons - will be used for trial parts, troubleshooting, quality checks and prototypes. The site also will house a computer-aided-engineering lab for structural and filling analysis.
Canada to help fund processor panels
QUEBEC CITY - Canada's government will help subsidize panels that will advise Quebec processors on how to improve productivity and innovation.
Canada Economic Development plans to contribute C$500,000 (US$337,000) to the Canadian Plastics Industry Association's Quebec division to help set up five regional panels. Each panel will comprise 10-12 small-business plastic industry representatives.
The five regions represent more than 85 percent of Quebec's small and medium-size plastics processors. The first panel, for the Quebec City-Chaudiere-Appalaches region, started Feb. 19. Other regions are Laval-Laurentides-Lanaudiere, l'Estrie, Montreal and Monteregie.
The panels will advise firms on technology transfer, innovation and productivity improvement.
