Tue, 08/01/2017 - 11:06

NASHUA, New Hampshire -- Pfeiffer Vacuum has acquire California-based manufacturer Nor-Cal Products for $68 million. Nor-Cal employes around 300 people in their U.S. and Vietnam facilities, where they manufacture vacuum components, chambers and valves for semiconductors, and various other products for research facilities. The company expects to post $60 million in sales in 2017. Nor-Cal was founded in 1962 in Yreka, California, before opening a facility in Ho-Chi-Minh-City, Vietnam. Pfeiffer hopes the acquisition will increase their footprint and growth opportunities in the Asian markets. More from the release: "This is an important transaction for Pfeiffer Vacuum. With Nor-Cal, we will significantly reinforce our position in the increasingly attractive market for vacuum components. The merger makes us a leading supplier in the USA, an important growth market. Our joint American clientele will benefit from a broader product portfolio, new technology solutions and a more extensive sales network. Selling Nor-Cal products via Pfeiffer Vacuum's far stronger distribution network in Asia will also drive sales substantially. After all, we will continue offering Nor-Cal's high-class components to semiconductor customers but will also integrate them into the Analytics and Industrial market segments and, hence, generate additional economies of scale, higher margins and sustained growth," says Manfred Bender, CEO of Pfeiffer Vacuum Technology AG. "Furthermore, the manufacturing site in Vietnam, with its proximity to our Asian clients and its beneficial cost structure will allow us to increase our profitability further." Founded in 1962 in Yreka, California, USA, Nor-Cal operates plants at its Yreka headquarters and in Ho-Chi-Minh-City, Vietnam, which will further improve the group's global production footprint. In recent years, the company has benefited greatly from its persistent focus on customers in the semiconductor industry and this segment's comparatively high growth. Nor-Cal has identified the medical engineering sector in North America as another very interesting future growth market. Pfeiffer Vacuum will take advantage of Nor-Cal's high profile and its advanced online and offline sales channels to win new customers and grow its market share in North America. In order to successfully combine both businesses, Nor-Cal and its management team will immediately be integrated into Pfeiffer Vacuum's existing organizational structure. "After the acquisitions of Dreebit and ATC, we have achieved a particularly attractive milestone with the acquisition of Nor-Cal. Now we are not only better able to serve growth markets in the USA and Asia, we have also reinforced all market segments. The transaction fully supports our declared strategy of tapping the vacuum market's great potential by way of acquisitions. And the long-term prospects, which were already excellent, have further improved for our shareholders," says Manfred Bender.