Howden, one of the world’s largest manufacturers of air and gas handling equipment, has acquired Thomassen Compression Systems BV, based in the Netherlands.
Howden, a global engineering firm based in Scotland with six U.S. locations, bought Thomassen for $160 million, the company said in a release.
The company’s U.S. subsidiary, Howden North American, is based in Columbia. The headquarters employs 90 people. Worldwide, Howden has 3,800 employees. Thomassen has about 280 employees mainly based in the Netherlands.
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“Howden is very excited about this acquisition,” spokeswoman Nicole MacLean said. “It is the largest in the company’s history and it widens (our) range of compressor capabilities. This acquisition is positive for Thomassen as well with the full support of their management and workforce.”
Howden has six U.S. locations: Columbia; New Philadelphia, Ohio; Williamsville, N.Y.; Canton, Mich.; Plymouth Meeting, Penn.; and, Raleigh.
Howden designs, engineers and supplies air and gas handling equipment including industrial fans, process gas compressors and rotary heat exchangers.
Thomassen focuses on the design, assembly, installation and servicing of custom-made horizontal piston compressors. Like Howden’s range of compressors, Thomassen’s equipment is highly-engineered, large scale products, designed primarily for the oil refining and petrochemical industries.
The majority of the equipment Howden manufactures is industrial fans.
However, Howden’s range of compressors — including screw, centrifugal turbo, diaphragm and horizontal piston compressors — are an increasingly important part of the company’s global portfolio, accounting for over 17 percent of its $800 million in revenue in 2010. Howden’s compressors are used for a variety of applications, especially in the oil and gas and petrochemical industries.
Howden sells its equipment around the globe, mostly in the U.S., Europe and Asia. In recent years, Thomassen’s main markets have been in Asia, Europe, South America and Africa.
The acquisition is expected to bring market opportunities not currently available to either company, the release said.
“Significant benefits will come from Howden’s ability to extend Thomassen’s presence in China and other markets where sales have been limited, and from Thomassen sharing access to Howden’s global (markets),” it said.
For the financial year ended Dec. 31, 2010, Thomassen had revenues of $202 million and orders worth $187 million.
Howden chief executive Bob Cleland said the acquisition “adds a major range of complementary products to our compressor portfolio. It increases our activities in the refining and petrochemical sectors, which have been underweight compared to our core market of power generation.”
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