TPT May 2009

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May 2009 6 ›
Industry News
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’.
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 78,000ft2 facility at their USA-based
location, a move designed to provide 66
per cent more manufacturing space, with an
additional 85,000ft2 for future expansion.
AddisonMckee – USA
Fax: +1 513 228 7226
Email:
Website:
Manufacturing for
both AddisonMckee
and Eagle brands will
be consolidated into
AddisonMckee’s
facilities in the
USA, Canada,
and China
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AddisonMckee closes UK facility and merges
with Eagle Precision
 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)