WEINHEIM, Germany (April 8, 2011)—Progress between Trelleborg A.B. and Vibracoustic on a merger is progressing steadily, with an announcement expected by the end of the year.
The goal is still a 50-50 joint venture, said Martin Stark, member of Freudenberg's management board.
Since Jan. 1, Freudenberg's classic sealing business—previously operated on a regional basis by the Freudenberg Seals and Vibration Control Technology Europe Business Group for Europe and the Freudenberg-NOK General Partnership Business Group for North and South America—has been brought together under the umbrella of the new Freudenberg Sealing Technologies Business Group.
At the beginning of 2010, Vibracoustic took over all the shares of its joint venture partner Anvis Netherlands B.V., Venlo, Netherlands, and thus became the sole shareholder of Vibracoustic do Brasil Ltda., TaubatÃ&Copy;-SP, Brazil. This will allow Vibracoustic to serve the South American market even more efficiently.
In October, Vibracoustic opened a plant in Yantai, China, to produce vibration engineering components and commercial vehicle air springs for the Chinese automobile industry and to serve customers locally.