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[August 2009]
Unifrax Announces Acquisition Deal in Europe
Unifrax I LLC (Niagara Falls, NY, USA), the manufacturer of ceramic fibre insulation products, has announced that through a UK subsidiary, Unifrax Europe Holdings Ltd, it has acquired ALFATEC Feuerfest-Faser-Technik GmbH and sister company ALFATEC Feuerfest-Vertrieb GmbH. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.Alfatec is located in Unterwölbling, Austria about an hour from Vienna and is a manufacturer of vacuum formed shapes and other fabricated products made from ceramic and other fibres. The business has approximately 27 employees who will be joining the Unifrax European team. Alfatec also has an ownership position in a joint venture company in China called Alfiso that will be a part of the Unifrax acquisition. Alfiso is located in Tianjin, China. Its main business is vacuum forming of ceramic fibre shapes.
Johann Haberreiter, the former owner of Alfatec, founded the business in 1986 and has led its substantial growth. He has joined Unifrax as an employee and will help to drive the continuing growth of Unifrax’ value-added shapes business.
Unifrax I LLC is a leading global supplier of insulation products that are used in many high temperature industrial, automotive and fire protection applications. The company has 17 manufacturing facilities in the USA, Europe, Asia and Latin America and employs approximately 1,200 people world-wide.
David Brooks, Unifrax President and CEO, commented: “We are pleased to add Alfatec to our European manufacturing portfolio. The business has excellent manufacturing capabilities and strong customer relationships. And the Alfiso joint venture is well located to support our growth initiatives in the Chinese market and surrounding region.
“This acquisition represents another positive step in the continued implementation of the long-term growth strategy for our Company and will strengthen the competitive position of Unifrax in Europe and through the Alfiso join venture, in the high-growth Chinese market.”
www.unifrax.com
ENDS