Mann+Hummel sold its US subsidiary, Universal Dynamics Inc., to the Italian equipment maker Piovan.

In the USA, Universal Dynamics is one of the leading manufacturers of equipment for the plastics processing industry, recording sales of approximately 27.1 million US Dollars in 2007 and employing 120 people. The American company is specialized in the design, production, supply and service of feeding, drying and dosing systems.

With this new acquisition the Piovan Group now has 4 production sites, respectively located in Italy, Brazil, China and the U.S., 750 employees and a sales volume of 125 million Euro expected for 2008. Piovan is active in the sectors of Injection & Blow Moulding, Extrusion, PET Preforms & Optical Application, and is present in all markets, trough 18 companies.

“The choice to serve the US market through a local industrial entity having deep roots in the territory and an excellent reputation, testifies and confirms once again our wish to work alongside our clients, a decisive factor for our own innovation and development”, sayd Nicola Piovan, CEO and Managing Director of the Piovan Group.

For MANN+HUMMEL, this sale represents an important step towards concentrating on core business in the NAFTA region. It will also enable the company to make further investments for steady growth in North America. “Our objective is to become one of the top three suppliers of filters in North and South America”, said Dr. Dieter Seipler, CEO of the Mann+Hummel Group. “We have thus specifically extended our automotive activities in this region since 1997”.

Mann+Hummel is currently expanding development, testing and production capacities at Portage and South Bend in the USA, as well as in Queretaro, Mexico, focussing on filtration of diesel, gasoline, engine and transmission oils for passenger cars as well as for the off-road and heavy duty segments.

The equipment and systems manufacturer Universal Dynamics has formed part of the MANN+HUMMEL Group since 1995, reporting to Mann+Hummel ProTec with Head Office in Bensheim, Germany. The strategic basis for the acquisition at that time was to expand business investment in the PVC and compounding sectors.

From 1st October 2008, the German company Mann+Hummel ProTec, which also manufactures equipment and systems for the plastics processing industry in Europe, will be further extended following integration into the industrial filters division as a separate business area.