Techniplas Group Acquires WEIDMANN Plastics Technology A & I Division

Addition significantly expands global presence and technical depth 

Techniplas – a North American-based, privately held group of plastic manufacturers who primarily serve the automotive, industrial and medium and heavy truck industries – recently announced the acquisition of the Plastics Technology Automotive and Industrial (A & I) division of WEIDMANN International Corporation (WICOR group).

With headquarters and a full service design and technical center in Rapperswil, Switzerland, and manufacturing facilities in Switzerland, Germany, Brazil, China and the United States, WEIDMANN Plastics Technology A & I division is a leading producer of highly engineered and technically complex plastic components primarily for the automotive industry. Key technology areas include air/water separation components, lighting technology, under hood components and a variety of interior and exterior decorative components and modules.

"We are very pleased to add WEIDMANN Plastics Technology A & I division to the Techniplas group," said George Votis, chairman and founder of Techniplas. "WEIDMANN A & I is well known in the automotive industry for its Swiss quality, state-of-the-art manufacturing and ability to fully support its customers from concept to production. With an extensive global presence and a highly qualified management team, we believe the combination of existing Techniplas companies with WEIDMANN A & I creates a powerful new business entity."

The business will continue to operate as a separate company under the WEIDMANN name and will continue to be headquartered in Rapperswil. WEIDMANN A & I will coordinate many of its activities with existing Techniplas companies Dickten Masch Plastics, Nyloncraft and Vallotech as Techniplas continues to serve an increasingly global customer base. Techniplas sales growth with the addition of WEIDMANN A & I will take the company from $234M to nearly $500M, which is well balanced across multiple geographic regions.

"The addition of WEIDMANN A & I significantly expands the global presence and technical depth of Techniplas," saidKim Korth, president and CEO of Techniplas. "With its superb reputation of successfully supporting the highly demanding premium European OEMs and a demonstrated track record in new product and process development, WEIDMANN A & I brings competencies that can be leveraged across all Techniplas companies."

The vision of Techniplas is to create a platform of highly successful, growth-oriented plastic enterprises that maintain flexibility in terms of scale and structure. The Techniplas group of companies include: Nyloncraft with facilities inMishawaka, Ind., and Jonesville, Mich., producing highly technical precision components and modules primarily for the automotive and medium and heavy truck industries; Dickten Masch with facilities in Wisconsin, Iowa andMonterrey, Mexico, as a leading producer of technical plastic components and assemblies for a variety of automotive, transportation and industrial segments; and Vallotech, based in Vallorbe, Switzerland, specializing in ultra high-precision thermoset and thermoplastic parts for the automotive industry.

"This transaction transforms Techniplas into a truly global player with a broad depth of manufacturing and development expertise. We look forward to leveraging these new capabilities on behalf of our customers," added George Votis.

Terms of the transaction are not being disclosed.