NEW YORK, January 9, 2003 - New York merchant bank Castle Harlan, Inc., announced today it had acquired Technifor, S.A., a global leader in the manufacture of marking devices for permanent product identification and tracing in a variety of industrial applications. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Castle Harlan said it plans to merge and integrate Technifor into another company it owns, Gravograph New Hermes Holding LLC, which is building a position as the global leader in the rapidly growing markets for permanent marking. Gravograph is the world's largest producer and distributor of engraving and laser-marking machines, accessories. Castle Harlan had acquired Gravograph in the spring of 2000.
Robert C. Wages, the Castle Harlan managing director who helped negotiate the purchase, said the acquisition would grow Gravograph's annual revenues to approximately $120 million.
Technifor is based in Miribel, France, near Lyon, but more than 80 percent of its sales occur outside that country through eight subsidiaries and some 80 distributors. Approximately 50 percent of Technifor's sales are to the automotive industry, and virtually all of the major automotive companies worldwide are its customers. In the aeronautics industry, its customers include Boeing, Airbus, Dassault and General Electric.
In a joint statement, Gravograph Chairman Gérard Guyard and Chief Executive Officer Ben Anderson-Ray commented: "By acquiring Technifor, Gravograph will expand its position in industrial markets and add to its already significant worldwide distribution and service capabilities. "The integration of Technifor's strong management team, its research and development competence and its broad customer base will further solidify Gravograph's role in industrial-marking solutions and bring added innovation to its engraving-systems customers." They're a perfect fit," Wages said of the two companies. "Technifor's marking devices are largely for utilitarian purposes -- identification and traceability of parts -- while Gravograph has a greater concern for the aesthetics and appearance of its end product. The two companies are truly complementary."
Wages noted that Technifor had experienced consistent sales growth of 17.5 percent per year for the past 10 years.
"This is clearly a company on a strong growth path," he said, "and we are confident that the synergies that will be realized with Gravograph will accelerate the growth of both companies."
Marcel Therond, who founded Technifor 22 years ago, and Gérard Guérin, the chief operating officer, will remain with the company.
Gravograph is based in Atlanta, Georgia, and also has a major facility in Troyes, France; it markets its products throughout the world under the Gravograph and New Hermes brand names. The United States is by far Gravograph's largest market with approximately 40 percent of sales. Technifor's largest market is also the United States, with more than 35 percent of sales.
Castle Harlan was founded in 1987 by John K. Castle, former president and chief executive officer of Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette, the investment banking firm, and Leonard M. Harlan, founder and former chairman of The Harlan Company. Since its founding, Castle Harlan has completed acquisitions exceeding $5 billion.
Its portfolio companies include McCormick & Schmick's, owner of upscale seafood restaurants; Associated Packaging Technologies, Inc., the leading manufacturer of specialty packaging for frozen foods; AdobeAir, Inc., a leading manufacturer of evaporative coolers, and American Achievement Corp., producer of class rings under the Balfour and ArtCarved labels, college and high school yearbooks and other similar academic and scholastic materials.
Castle Harlan is currently raising its fourth private-equity investment fund, Castle Harlan Partners IV, L.P, and has more than $900 million in commitments from limited partners. It expects a final closing in the first half of this year.
For additional information on Gravograph, see www.gravograph.com. For additional information on Technifor visit www.technifor.com.