Trelleborg acquires French hose manufacturer

By Liz White, ERJ staff

Trelleborg's Engineered Systems business has bought the Dynaflex hose business from Italian headquartered hose and industrial rubber group Manuli Rubber Industries SpA.

Manuli Dynaflex uses composite materials to make products such as tanker-truck hoses, aviation-fuel hoses and hoses for aggressive chemicals, at a small unit in Sancheville, France.

Trelleborg says the Manuli Dynaflex unit will be integrated with another recent acquisition Unifluid Technologies SA and run as a single unit within Trelleborg Engineered Systems. Unifluid, a small French firm, which makes a range of composite hoses for the petrochemical industry, was bought in autumn 2003 to complement Trelleborg's existing speciality hose range.

The combined operation, “will be the European leader in the composite hoses segment,” the Swedish-headquartered group added in a press statement. “Synergies are expected in both production and sales,” Trelleborg added.

This deal is part of a strategy by the engineered systems operation to expand in selected industrial-hose segments-those “characterised by a high level of competitiveness and favourable future profitability,” said Trelleborg.

With the Dynaflex unit, Trelleborg said it hose unit has annual sales in the chemicals and petrochemicals segment of nearly SKr150 million (Euro 16 million).