M&As: Trelleborg enters Malaysian jv for composite hoses; Ensinger acquires medical tech firm Moll

Swedish engineered polymers firm Trelleborg has, through its Trelleborg Industrial Solutions business area, signed an agreement with Wellcall Holdings Bhd. to form a joint venture in Malaysia to manufacture and sell industrial hoses in composite materials. For Trelleborg, this venture is part of the group’s strategy to strengthen its positions in attractive market segments.

The joint venture will establish a production site in Malaysia. The first hose deliveries are scheduled to begin in 2020. Typical applications for hoses in composite materials include hoses for road and rail tanker trucks, hoses for aviation fuel and hoses for aggressive chemicals. Trelleborg currently manufactures composite hoses in Europe.

“We are very satisfied with the partnership with Wellcall. Trelleborg will contribute technological know-how in composite hoses and Wellcall, with its operations based in Malaysia, will contribute local knowledge concerning both the market and in operational terms. Trelleborg holds a strong position in this niche segment but the joint venture will allow us to grow our production capacity, reach new markets faster and strengthen our offering,” says Jean-Paul Mindermann, President of the Trelleborg Industrial Solutions business area.

Trelleborg will own 51% of the joint venture.

In other news, plastics processor Ensinger GmbH, Nufringen, has taken over the medical technology manufacturer Moll Engineering. The owner-operated company based in Lübeck manufactures products from carbon fibre-reinforced high-performance plastics, stainless steel and titanium. Moll’s core competence lies in target devices for trauma surgery, retractors and other medical instruments. Components for automation technology and aviation round off its portfolio. The acquisition also includes the takeover of the manufacturing company Wenglon GmbH, which makes products on Moll’s behalf in Dobra, near Szczecin (Poland). Engineering and Sales are based at the Lübeck site. A total of 70 employees work for Moll and Wenglon.

“We are delighted about this new addition, which introduces an attractive technology range into the corporate group”, says Dr. Roland Reber, Managing Director at Ensinger.

“The combination of carbon fibre-reinforced plastics and metals is the ideal solution for many medical applications, particularly in orthopaedics and trauma surgery”.

Ensinger already develops plastic compounds for the medical technology sector, provides stock shapes made from carbon fibre composite and other materials, and produces a variety of machined parts, for example trial implants and sterilisable cases and trays. Besides, a subsidiary company is developing new technologies for the processing of thermoplastic fibre composites. The different process technologies open up diverse options for customers for developing and manufacturing products together with Ensinger along the value added chain.

Moll Engineering, whose business was previously of a more regional nature despite the company’s expansion, will obtain better access to the global markets in the future thanks to its integration into the Ensinger Group.

Stefan Moll will continue to be in charge of the business of the company he co-founded in 1996. Continuity is also being maintained as far as the sites are concerned: Moll is to keep its headquarters in Lübeck, and there are further investments planned for the manufacturing in Dobra.

(PRA)

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