Dematic to acquire HK Systems
Dematic, a Luxembourg-based global supplier of integrated material handling services, said on Aug. 4 that
it has agreed in principle to buy HK Systems, a New
Berlin, Wis.-based automated material handling and
software provider with a strong presence in North
America.
The transaction, terms of which were not disclosed,
is expected to close sometime in the third quarter, the
companies said.
In a statement announcing the deal, the two companies said the combination will offer businesses greater
product and geographic coverage from a single-source
provider.
By adding HK’s capabilities, Dematic can provide
“customers throughout the world [with] an enhanced
solutions offering. We can now leverage our respective
expertise and experience in serving the supply chain
logistics market not only in North America but globally, to deliver added value to both existing and potential customers,” said Roar Isaksen, Dematic’s president
and CEO, in a prepared statement.
John Baysore, president and CEO of Dematic
North America, said combining the companies would
create synergies that would allow them to meet customers’ demands for “integrated solutions that enable
them to move products and information fast, reliably,
and efficiently through the supply chain.” Dematic’s
North American operations are based in Grand
Rapids, Mich.
John Splude, HK’s executive chairman, told DC
VELOCITY that HK had received a number of inquiries
from potential buyers and that the owners decided to
pursue them as the economy and financial markets
recovered. “Clearly, the Dematic folks and their owners [Germany-based Triton Beteiligungsberatung
GmbH] were an important party to talk to about the
advantages of putting the two companies together,”
he said.
From HK’s perspective, he added, the advantages to
the acquisition are Dematic’s international capabilities
and financial strength. “We’ve been trying to build an
international presence, but that is difficult and expensive to do,” he said.
Splude said the companies have little overlap in
products and services. Dematic was particularly
attracted to the Wisconsin company’s HK Logistics
operations as well as HK’s AGV line and its manufacturing plant in Salt Lake City, which Splude said is the
only one in the world specifically designed to build
AGVs and AS/RS machines.
—Mark Solomon and Peter Bradley
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accolades
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by collaborating with the appliance maker to reduce
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accuracy.
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