TPT May 2009

I ndustry N ews

AddisonMckee closes UK facility and merges with Eagle Precision

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Manufacturing for both AddisonMckee and Eagle brands will be consolidated into AddisonMckee’s

AddisonMckee Ltd, a manufacturer of tube bending and end-forming machinery, has ceased operation at its Preston, UK facility in response to declining market conditions. The company blames the closure of the facility on the global recession, a financial crisis restricting availability of financing, and unparalleled falling consumer demand. In a further move to reinvigorate its business, the company has also merged with Eagle Precision Technologies, a Canadian manufacturer of muffler solutions. Eagle Precision Technologies has been a world leader in the design and manufacture of tube forming solutions for over 45 years. “This transaction will bring together the two largest global names in tube manipulation products and services,” states Mr Joe Eramo, chief executive officer of AddisonMckee. “This merger will provide our collective global customer base with the absolute best in technical solutions, while lowering our product costs. In the current economic environment, market consolidations are a reality – with fewer, but larger, future customers.” As a result of this transaction, the manufacturing of products for both AddisonMckee and Eagle brands will be

consolidated into AddisonMckee’s facilities in Lebanon (OH), USA, Brantford (Ontario), Canada, and Tianjin, China. The Eagle facilities in Brantford, Canada and Shanghai, China will close. The resulting organization will continue to do business under the AddisonMckee name, while the Eagle brand name will be retained for key products. The company has also retained key AddisonMckee UK and Eagle staff in the areas of sales, engineering, parts, and field service. AddisonMckee was originally founded in 1956 as Addison Tool Company in the UK when it began importing metal cutting saws from Italy. The company gradually added tube-bending machines to its range and, in 1974, the company became the European agent for the very first hi-tech CNC tube bending and measuring machines. In mid-2005, the Chicago-based private equity group, WHI Capital Partners (WHICP), acquired AddisonMckee Ltd. An affiliate of William Harris Investors, WHICP is a Chicago-based private equity group that invests in middle market, industry- leading companies with ‘solid financial fundamentals and proven management teams’ .

facilities in the USA, Canada, and China

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Mr John Brown, AddisonMckee ’ s chief executive officer for the last 25 years, recently announced his phased retirement. Mr Brown – who was succeeded by Mr Joe Eramo – will remain in the group as president of European and Asian operations in the interim period. The closure of the UK facility and merger with Eagle follows on from the company’s 2006 expansion into the Chinese market, with a new facility in Tianjin. In the same year, AddisonMckee also built a brand new 78,000ft 2 facility at their USA-based location, a move designed to provide 66 per cent more manufacturing space, with an additional 85,000ft 2 for future expansion.

AddisonMckee – USA Fax : +1 513 228 7226

Email : crogiers@addisonmckee.com Website : www.addisonmckee.com

 AddisonMckee’s facility in Tianjin, China – established in 2006 – will take on excess work, following the closure of AddisonMckee’s UK facility and merger with Eagle. The company will also make use of its expanded US facility in Lebanon (OH)

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M ay 2009

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