Global consumer electronics group Philips Electronics NV intends to sell the mold-making division of its injection molding and tooling offshoot High Tech Plastics of Veldhoven, the Netherlands.
HTP Tooling, which produces molds for the optical industry, operates production plants in Eindhoven, the Netherlands, and in Suzhou, China, and employs a total of 120. It is a leading producer of molds for contact-lens manufacturing and has supplied tooling to several top German auto manufacturers for state-of-the-art steering-column-control systems.
Eindhoven-based Philips plans to complete the sale of its precision tooling business to Netherlands-based investment company Varova NV, according to Dutch newspaper Eindhovens Dagblad.
The reported buyer could not be contacted to verify the story.
``High Tech Plastics Tooling is not a strategic fit for us and we are taking steps to transfer it to different owners,'' a Philips spokeswoman said.
She would not confirm the names of any potential buyers or give further details, but added that Philips will make an announcement when a sale is made.
The plastics processing side of HTP's operations, which Philips said is not being sold, designs and molds a range of high-specification optical products.
HTP has established a strong global presence in high-technology sectors like electronics, automotive controls and medical products.
The company's optical products have applications in DVDs and Blu-ray technology, mobile phone imagers, solid-state lighting and automotive sensing applications. HTP operates a technology center in Veldhoven.
