UK filter firm expands into US
US market with the purchase of a Californian company specialising
in filtration for the biopharmaceutical, food and beverage and
chemical industries.
The company said that the acquisition of PTI Technologies gives it a manufacturing base in the US and a wider product range in its Process Operations division, while giving it the opportunity to improve the marketing of Domnick Hunter products in North America.
The £9.8 million (€14.9m) deal covers Domnick Hunter's purchase of both PTI Advanced Filtration of the US and PTI Technologies of the UK from former parent ESCO Technologies.
Collin Billiet, Domnick Hunter's chief executive, said that the integration of the businesses into the group would be completed in the first half of 2005, and the costs of this process would eat into pretax profits until then.
The combined unaudited results of the acquired businesses for the year ended 30 September 2003 show turnover of £18.4 million, gross profit of £3.6 million, an operating loss of £4.0 million and net assets of £14.3 million.
