Swiss conveyor-belt firm to buy Summa
TORRANCE, CALIF. - Private Swiss company Habasit Holding AG plans to boost its stake in plastic conveyor-belt production with the acquisition of Summa Industries.
Habasit announced the acquisition Sept. 1, saying both firms' boards of directors approved the offer. Habasit, based in Reinach-Basel, Switzerland, said Summa management will remain in place and its existing U.S. operations will continue.
Summa, based in Torrance, has several operating companies. Its KVP Inc. subsidiary in Reading, Pa., makes modular plastic conveyor belts and accessories. Other subsidiaries make plastic lenses and fittings for irrigation systems.
``I am delighted to be able to expand the U.S. operations of Habasit, particularly in the conveyor-belt products, where Habasit is the global leader,'' Habasit Chairman Giovanni Volpi said in a news release. ``We intend to invest to improve operating efficiencies and customer service and to strengthen relationships with Summa's customers and distributors.''
Habasit's U.S. headquarters is in Suwanee, Ga., where it runs a fabrication plant. It also has a distribution site in Middletown, Conn. Habasit makes conveyor belts, including modular plastic types, and power transmission belts.
The firm is offering $15 per share for Summa, a 76 percent premium over Summa's closing share price Aug. 31 on Nasdaq. As well, Habasit will assume about $21 million of Summa's debt. The deal is pending regulatory approvals and acceptance by a majority of Summa shareholders.
Molder Summitt invests in growth plan
Madisonville, Ky. - Madisonville injection molder Summitt Molding & Engineering Inc. is planning a $5.2 million expansion that will boost its workforce to 126 from 24 in the next five years.
Summitt has added a 20,000-square-foot warehouse adjacent to its property, according to a news release from the Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development. The company makes parts for various industries and does subassembly and fabrication.
The Kentucky Economic Development Finance Authority approved the injection molder for tax benefits up to $2.5 million under the Kentucky Rural Economic Development Act.
Summitt officials declined comment.
CCL to expand Mexico tube, label unit
TORONTO - CCL Industries Inc. will expand Mexican operations, complementing its purchase of a Brazilian firm early this year.
The Toronto firm announced Aug. 30 that it will invest more than C$45 million (US$40.6 million) in its label, plastic tube and aluminum container operations in Mexico. The CCL Label Mexico business unit will move to a new, 140,000-square-foot facility in Mexico City from a smaller plant elsewhere in the city.
The investment includes high-speed tube extrusion lines that dramatically will boost the unit's tube production capacity for personal-care products, said spokeswoman Janis Wade. About C$10 million (US$9 million) will be spent on new label-converting and pre-press technologies for film- and paper-based labels.
Also to be installed are new offset and rotogravure printing presses for personal-care and beverage labels. CCL said all operations in the new plant should be at full speed by the spring.
In January, CCL strengthened its label position by buying Prodesmaq Indústria Grafica Ltda. of Vinhedo, Brazil.
``We see Latin America as an increasingly important geographic growth region for our customers in the consumer products business, with Mexico also playing an important role as a manufacturing center for products intended for the U.S. market,'' Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Donald Lang said in a news release.
Okla. maker of boat lifts buys rotomolder
CLAREMORE, OKLA. - Boat-lift maker HydroHoist International Inc. of Claremore has acquired full ownership of rotomolder Rotational Technologies Inc., in which it already had a 50 percent stake.
Rotational Technologies, or Rotek, is based in Claremore. The company was sold by Larry Wheeler, David Wheeler and Ralph Manis. A company official confirmed the sale, but Rotek and HydroHoist officials were not available for comment.
Rotek each year custom molds about 3 million pounds of polyethylene, making products like floats, tanks, containers and airline industry products. HydroHoist makes hydro-pneumatic boat lifts.