Adcuram acquires Hennecke

Münich, Germany-based financial holding company Adcuram last week acquired polyurethane processing machinery manufacturer Hennecke (Sankt Augustin) from parent company and PUR supplier Bayer (Leverkusen, both Germany). The sale is to be completed by year’s end. Financial details were not released.

Bayer publicly announced in February 2007 that it wanted to divest Hennecke, a firm it acquired in 1975. Hennecke employs approximately 500 people at sites in St. Augustin; Pittsburgh, PA; Singapore; and Shanghai. Sales last year were about 80 million euro. Key competitors include KraussMaffei, Gusmer-Decker, and Cannon.

Adcuram has made a splash in the past three years in the plastics machinery world. It acquired extrusion blowmolding machinery manufacturer Kautex (Bonn, Germany) in May 2004 from Swiss packaging firm SIG, and sold Kautex to its management last year. In October 2006, it acquired the injection molding machinery manufacturing business Battenfeld Kunststoffmaschinen (Kottingbrunn, Austria). Although Adcuram officials at the K Show did not say they had concrete plans to do so, certainly the new owner may be looking at synergies between Hennecke and Battenfeld, especially as key competitor (for both Battenfeld injection molding and Hennecke) KraussMaffei clearly is seeing strong market interest in its combination injection molding/reaction molding production cells. Adcuram plans to keep Hennecke’s employees and current locations, and said it will invest further in its new portfolio member.—[email protected]