Conthey, Switzerland — Swiss private equity firm CGS Management AG is making a major investment in H. Müller Fabrique de Moules SA, the maker of in-mold labeling, molds and automation for thin-wall injection molding, based in Conthey, Switzerland.
H. Müller Farbrique's CEO and owner, Udo Gröber, and CGS will make add-on acquisitions that “will build the company into a solid and technologically-pioneering industrial group operating worldwide,” according to a news release that announced the deal March 1.
Terms were not disclosed. A CGS spokesman said the private equity firm would not disclose the percent of its share of ownership in H. Müller Fabrique.
H. Müller Fabrique was founded in 1959. The company designs and makes molds and robot systems for thin-wall packaging manufacturers in food and non-food markets. The company helped pioneer in-mold labeling back in 1993, officials said.
CGS, based in Pfäffikon, Switzerland, invests in industrial companies. CGS takes a hands-on approach, partnering with local management.
CGS has invested in platform companies in German-speaking countries, and made add-on deals worldwide, since 1999. That's what happened with two other plastics-related deals in the past.
CGS owned Automatik Plastics Machinery GmbH, and then held a 50-percent stake when Automatik and polymer melt technology company Maag Pump Systems AG merged in 2010.
Dover Corp. bought Maag from CGS and another investment firm in 2012.
In 2013, Husky Injection Molding Systems Ltd., the injection press maker, bought Swiss mold maker Schöttli Group from CGS. CGS had purchased a majority stake from owner Martin Schöttli in 2008, and together they made add-on acquisition in China and the United States.
