Coperion expands in alumina handling, industrial filtering

Weingarten, Germany – Coperion Waeschle GmbH & Co. KG of Weingarten has announced two acquisitions, which it said will give it access to new areas of the bulk mineral handling systems market and add industrial filtering systems to its portfolio.

On 1 Jan, Coperion took over Hartmann Förderanlagen GmbH, an Offenbach am Main, Germany-based manufacturer of bulk alumina handling systems. The company will trade as Coperion Hartmann and operate within the Coperion Group’s materials handling division.

Coperion Waeschle already claims to cover the entire process chain in the plastics industry – from reactor through to the logistical handling of bulk materials. The acquisition, it said will now enable it to provide a similar scope of services in the aluminium industry; from the receiving, handling and storage of incoming raw materials through to the conveying and loading of alumina into the electrolytic cells.

In a second deal, Coperion Waeschle has acquired Horn Filter- und Verfahrenstechnik GmbH of Hennef, Germany. The acquisition, said Coperion, adds a further processing stage to its bulk materials handling portfolio and expands its range of industrial filtering systems.

“With these strategically important steps, we shall now be able to extend our strong market position in bulk materials handling systems for the plastics industry into other new markets," reported Axel Kiefer, managing director of Coperion Waeschle.

With 2006 sales of around Euro450 million and 2000 employees, Coperion engineers, supplies and maintains complete plants as well as machinery and parts for the plastics, chemicals and foods industries. London-based Lyceum Capital became the sole owner of the group in March 2006.