Trelleborg to divest its rubber roll-covering business

TRELLEBORG, Sweden (May 16)—Trelleborg A.B. plans to sell its roll-covering operations to rubber roll maker Stowe Woodward Co., the Swedish firm announced May 16. The divestiture should be completed on May 31. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed, but Trelleborg said the sale "will release funds" of about $8.3 million, which will be used to restructure the firm's Engineered Systems operations in Mexico. The new operation, to be called Stowe Woodward Sweden A.B., will comprise former Trelleborg units in Trelleborg and Mjondalen, Norway. Trelleborg is leaving the roll-covering business because it believed it had "limited opportunities to grow" in the market, said Hans Porat, executive vice president with the company. A large number of Trelleborg's production was under license from Stowe Woodward, which is based in Southborough, Mass.