Update: Alpha Engineered unit buy to boost Trelleborg in North America

TRELLEBORG, Sweden—Trelleborg A.B. continues to increase its footprint in North America with the acquisition of the Alpha Elastomers Division of Alpha Engineered Composites Inc., giving the global manufacturer of seal and damping products new applications in silicone and polymer-coated fabrics.

The deal between Trelleborg Industrial Solutions—one of three core business segments for the company, along with Trelleborg Sealing Solutions and Trelleborg Wheel Systems—and Alpha Engineered Composites was finalized Dec. 30.

Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

"The acquisition is a good example of how the Trelleborg Industrial Solutions business area is climbing the value ladder to create better and larger business opportunities," said Jean-Paul Mindermann, president of Trelleborg Industrial Solutions.

According to Trelleborg, the polymer-coated fabrics space netted about $10 million in 2021 for the Lakewood, N.J.-based Alpha Engineered Composites, an international, privately owned company. And the business has a great potential upside, according to Steve Brockman, vice president and commercial director of Trelleborg Engineered Coated Fabrics, a division of the industrial solutions segment.

With the transaction finalized, Trelleborg now owns all the production equipment, customer contracts and intellectual property rights that had been under Alpha Elastomers.

The purchase of the Alpha Engineered Composites segment includes manufacturing equipment, specifications and formulations used to produce engineered materials used in the Fairprene and FluoroSeal brands, gaskets and seals, expansion joints, gangway bellows and flexible heaters, Brockman told Rubber News Jan. 5.

Manufacturing operations acquired include rubber-coating, curing and other processes, production that will continue out of Lakewood, N.J., at this time, Brockman said.

"Key sales and product development personnel" have been retained by Trelleborg from the Alpha division, according to Brockman.

Specifically, Trelleborg will look to open up new markets in the heat-resistant, silicone-coated fabrics space, which has applications in transportation equipment (train bellows), aerospace products and industrial products (flexible ducting).

Trelleborg will look to expand the Fairprene diaphragm brand, which has been well-established for five decades, and will look to increase its market share in high-end, specialty elastomers as well.

"In addition to silicone applications, we have acquired a leading position in the specialty FKM sealing and gasket applications in the oil and gas and general industrial segments," Brockman said. "We are excited about the new technologies that Alpha developed that meet and exceed the most stringent emerging global standards."

Mindermann added that the acquired assets and accompanying customer base "complement Trelleborg's product portfolio very well."

Brockman called the acquisition "a tremendous opportunity," a move that will allow the company to expand into adjacent markets.

"Adding the Fairprene and FluoroSeal product lines to our portfolio will further extend the comprehensive range of products offered to our customers," he said. "We are committed to a smooth transition focusing on enhanced customer service and value creation."

Trelleborg A.B. had annual sales of about $3.6 billion in 2021 and maintains operations in about 50 countries, with roughly 24,000 global employees.