Vigilancia tecnológica

Plastics machinery firms were active players in the M&A market in the first half of 2021.

Arburg GmbH of Lossburg, Germany, purchased its development partner of more than 20 years, AMK Arnold Müller GmbH & Co. KG, as part of a strategic investment to strengthen its expertise and electric drives portfolio. The acquired company has a product portfolio of motors, electrical drive systems and control technology, and industrial automation technology. Arburg plans to retain the AMK employees and keep open the sites in Kirchheim unter Teck and Weida, Germany, and Gabrovo, Bulgaria.

Aston, Pa.-based Maguire Products Inc. bought a minority share of Bridgeville, Del.-based O.A. Newton, a supplier of bulk material handling systems to the wood-plastic composite, flexible and rigid PVC, and carbon black markets, to expand capabilities. O.A. Newton designs and builds complete systems for unloading, storage, conveying and blending of process ingredients for plastics processors and other manufacturers.

Extrusion equipment manufacturer Reifenhäuser Group of Troisdorf, Germany, acquired a majority stake in Kdesign GmbH, a manufacturer of air cooling rings and measuring systems for blown film extrusion lines. In the deal, Reifenhäuser expanded its in-house expertise in cooling, controlling, measuring and calibrating blown films while Kdesign gains access to a large international service network.

In the tooling sector, Windsor, Ontario-based Concours Technologies Inc. acquired Active Industrial Solutions Inc., which is also based in Windsor and has a related mold repair and maintenance facility in Tennessee.

Concours is a wholly owned subsidiary of Southfield, Mich.-based SyBridge Technologies, which was established in 2019 with $200 million from the private equity firm Crestview Partners to form a market leader, particularly for tooling for the lighting, fascia and grille segment.

The combination of Concours and AIS creates one of the largest tooling and mold making companies in North America. In addition to its Windsor headquarters, where Concours houses engineering and services, the company has facilities in Lakeshore, Ontario; Cullman, Ala.; and Puebla, Mexico.

Also in the first half, Concours bought the assets of Toolplas Systems Mexico S de RL de CV to service injection molders in the central part of the country. Concours officials said they wanted to add a customer service center in the Querétaro area and were able to negotiate a deal to acquire the assets of Toolplas Mexico.