Davis-Standard deal brings opportunity

PAWCATUCK, Conn.—The acquisition of Maillefer International Oy gives Davis-Standard L.L.C. a chance to boost its business that offers extrusion products to the high voltage end of the wire and cable industry.

The acquisition, closed in mid-September, improves the companies' ability to provide for extrusion systems and services customers, according to a company release. The entire Maillefer organization is included in the acquisition. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Davis-Standard touts Maillefer—based in Vantaa, Finland, and Ecublens, Switzerland—as a global leader in the wire, cable, pipe and tube products technologies.

"We are proud to welcome the entire Maillefer team to the Davis-Standard family," said Jim Murphy, Davis-Standard president and CEO. "Together we become the market leading global extrusion systems and services provider to a world-class customer base."

Mallifer has about 240 employees worldwide and offers more than 50 technologies and a wide services portfolio to cover about 20 applications. It said it can provide anything from a single component to a complete factory. It has manufacturing and service facilities in Finland, Switzerland, China, Russia, India and Egypt.

Former Maillefer CEO Lars Fagerholm becomes a Davis-Standard executive vice president overseeing the Maillefer business. "Maillefer is proud to join an organization with as strong a brand and industry reputation as its own," he said. "Together, the dedication to our products, service and customer support will continue as it has in the past."

Maillefer is a dominant player on the high and medium voltage sides of the wire and cable market, according to Joseph Wnuk, Davis-Standard vice president of elastomer and profile systems. "So that brings a complementary business to the wire and cable division," he said at the recent ACS Rubber Division International Elastomer Conference in Cleveland.

For wire and cable, Pawcatuck-based Davis-Standard generally operates in the medium and low voltage parts of the market, supplying extrusion machinery and converting technologies to customers that service such sectors as construction and automotive.

Wnuk is on the integration team for the tubing and profile part of the acquisition, an area he said has very little overlap between the two companies. Maillefer brings Davis-Standard new products and customers in such areas as irrigation tubing systems, crosslinkable tubing and aluminum composite tooling.

"Those are all segments that we don't participate in, but they're world leaders in," Wnuk said. "It's very exciting, just by the nature of the complementary business and the ability to use the technologies of both companies."

Murphy said the transaction is a "major milestone for the growth of Davis-Standard and all our stakeholders. Together with our majority owners, ONCAP, we are enthusiastic to include Maillefer in our vision for the future."

ONCAP is the mid-market private equity platform of Onex Partners, investing in small and mid-size companies in North America that are identified as leaders in their market niche and have strong growth potential.