Coperion Group, a German compounding machinery maker, is close to buying a majority stake in Chinese extruder maker Nanjing Keya Industries, according to a Coperion official.
Late last year, Stuttgart-based Coperion announced an agreement with Keya to sell Keya machines outside of China. Keya of Shenzhen, China, claims it has more than 50 percent of the Chinese market for standard and medium-size extrusion equipment.
Coperion established a small assembly operation in Shanghai in 2003.
Jan Van Bakergem, president and chief executive officer of Coperion Corp., the U.S. unit in Ramsey, N.J., said in late May that Coperion was in due diligence and hoped to finalize a deal soon.
Last year, Coperion laid off 70 people in Ramsey, as the company shut down its U.S. manufacturing operation and moved it to Stuttgart.
