COMPANY NEWS BASF sells Meyco division to Atlas CopcoDec 2012
TunnelTalk reporting
BASF has sold its Meyco Equipment business to Atlas Copco. It will continue to provide chemical solutions to the tunneling and mining industry but Atlas Copco will in future provide the Meyco range of concrete spraying machines to customers across the tunneling and mining industries and will continue operations at the only production site of Meyco Equipment in Winterthur, Switzerland.
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Currently, about 40 employees work at the Winterthur site and the sales and service office in Hermsdorf, Germany. Under the agreement announced just before the end of the working year, all Meyco employees will be transferred to the new owner. The business achieved sales of about €20 million in 2011. Both parties have agreed to not disclose financial details of the transaction. The purchase is subject to approval by the relevant authorities and final settlement is expected by end of the first quarter of 2013.
Meyco Equipment was part of the Construction Chemicals division of BASF. A press announcement by BASF today (Friday 21 December 2012) states that "the business of engineering, assembling and selling concrete spraying machines is driven by success factors different from the chemical industry" which prompted its sale of the division.
In the announcement, Dr Tilman Krauch, President of BASF's Construction Chemicals division, said that BASF would aim to establish a close partnership with Atlas Copco in the field of product development, stating that the giant Swedish equipment manufacturer "offers excellent conditions for the future development of Meyco Equipment as a machinery business. At the same time it is our goal to maintain the benefit of optimized solution packages consisting of machines and chemicals".
"The acquisition of Meyco Equipment is a good strategic fit for Atlas Copco," said Bob Fassl, Business Area President for Atlas Copco Mining and Rock Excavation Technique. "It broadens the offering for our existing customers by also offering equipment for shotcreting. Shotcreting is a growth area thanks to high safety requirements in tunneling and we look forward to introducing these products through our global sales channels, both to mining and underground civil construction customers."
BASF, a leading world chemical company, posted sales of about €73.5 billion in 2011 and had more than 111,000 employees as of the end of the year. Its construction chemicals division operates production sites and sales centers in more than 60 countries and achieved sales of about €2.2 billion with approximately 7,000 employees in 2011. The Meyco range of products includes carrier-mounted concrete spraying equipment, concrete spraying arms, pumps and dosing units. Current sales are mainly for underground construction projects in Europe, Asia and the Middle East.
Atlas Copco's Mining and Rock Excavation Technique business provides drilling and rock excavation equipment and a range of related consumables and services through a global network. The purchase of the Meyco range of shotcreting equipment from BASF is the latest of a set of strategic developments by Atlas Copco in recent years, including take over in December 2011 of the underground business of GIA Industri AB of Sweden, the unveiling of a new range of underground products and start of a new division that focuses on customer services globally.
The move comes also after significant changes in the field of shotcrete and concrete pumping equipment and concrete chemical suppliers with the rapid expansion of Normet over recent years and its takeover of the TAM International chemical manufacturer, and sale of Putzmeister to Sany of China in early 2012.
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