Maag Pump Systems AG and its parent firm, Dover Corp., were active in the second half of 2015, making a pair of plastics machinery deals.
In late October, Oberglatt, Switzerland-based Maag agreed to buy Gala Industries Inc., a maker of underwater pelletizers, centrifugal pellet dryers and related equipment based in Eagle Rock, Va. Gala also manufactures products in Xanten, Germany, and runs a sales office in Thailand.
Maag is a global maker of gear pumps, pelletizing systems and filtration systems for plastics and other industries. Both companies retained their existing brand names, which include Maag Pump Systems, Automatik Pelletizing Systems and Gala Industries. Maag President Ueli Thuerig will head the combined businesses.
Gala employs almost 200. Theurig said the two firms “will share strengths,” while Gala CEO David Bryan added that the two companies “fit perfectly together.”
“This is a unique opportunity to expand our suite of services, create enhanced professional opportunities and increase our geographic reach which will further enhance our profitability,” Bryan said in the announcement.
The Gala deal was followed in early November by Maag parent Dover — a publicly traded firm based in Downers Grove, Ill. — acquiring Reduction Engineering Scheer Inc., a maker of pelletizers, rotors and pulverizers based in Kent, Ohio.
RES employs 125 people at its factories in Kent and Stuttgart, Germany, and a service center in Shanghai. A few days before the formal announcement, RES first posted on its website that it was “Now teamed up with a powerful source in the industry,” together with the Maag logo.
The companies will continue to use their existing brand names: Maag Pump Systems, Automatik Pelletizing Systems, Gala Industries and Reduction Engineering Scheer. The new owner has no immediate plans to move manufacturing from Kent.
The businesses also will be headed by Maag's Thuerig. Dover bought RES from owner Robert Sly. Terms were not disclosed.