SKF has signed a Memorandum of Understanding to acquire Austrian industrial seals company Economos Austria GmbH from Salzer Holding GmbH. Economos will be part of SKF Sealing Solutions, a unit within the Automotive Division.
Economos Group sales for the year ending December 2005 were 77 million Euros (US$97.7 million) with 899 employees. Economos’s main market is Western Europe. Economos manufactures hydraulic and pneumatic seals for the oil and gas, food and beverage, pulp and paper, mining and steel segments. These seals are made from a variety of materials including advanced plastics.
Economos’ main manufacturing site is in Austria, and it also machines seals in key local markets. This approach has made Economos successful in the quick-delivery machined seals market, through its more than 20 subsidiaries around the world and its distributor network.
The acquisition brings new technologies to SKF and a complementary product range to the group’s existing seals range. The acquisition is subject to customary due diligence, signing of a definitive share purchase agreement and relevant regulatory approvals.
At the start of May, SKF announced it would sell its German forging business (2005 sales of $89.7 million) to Johann Hay GmbH & Co KF, one of the largest privately held forging companies in Germany.
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