The two companies recently signed a non-binding agreement for Sulzer to acquire Geka, which is headquartered in Bechenhofen, Germany and specialises in the production of packaging for colour cosmetics products.
Geka is estimated to have a market value of €260 million, and the acquisition is estimated to have doubled the size of Sulzer’s existing injection moulding business division which is a part of the company’s Chemtech division.
Geka provides expansion and synergies for Sulzer
The massive industrial operations of Sulzer also includes the areas of pumping solutions, rotating equipment maintenance and services, together with a reaction and mixing technologies business.
Sulzer executives say that the acquisition of Geka is crucial to the future expansion of its injection moulding business because it will help provide critical industrial mass and segment, as well as geographical diversification.
This is because both businesses are said to share the same industrial core, in high-precision plastic injection moulding, which in turn should lead to “significant cost synergies”.
Geographical manufacturing footprints
Likewise, the two businesses are also said to have complimentary geographical manufacturing footprints, which should enable the two businesses to combine and compete on a global basis as a leading provider in this area.
Sulzer is already specialised in the areas of plastic injection moulding for the dental and industrial adhesive segments, so the addition of Geka’s specialisation in cosmetics serves to also broaden and diversify this portfolio.
Likewise, Geka is also represented in the healthcare segment, for high-precision plastic injection moulding application, which provides an opportunity to combine Sulzer’s existing operations in this same area.
Geka currently employs around 900 employees in two manufacturing locations in Germany, a workforce Sulzer has said it is committed to take on in its entirety once the transaction is completed, probably in the third quarter of this year.