Pangborn, a member of the Atlas Holdings group of businesses, has purchased the second-largest wheel blast and surface preparation equipment provider in Europe, known as the Othello Gro
Pangborn, a member of the Atlas Holdings group of businesses, has purchased the second-largest wheel blast and surface preparation equipment provider in Europe, known as the Othello Group, from Wheelabrator Group.
The Othello Group companies are V+S – Vogel & Schemmann Maschinen, Berger Strahltechnik and WG Technology.
With the acquisition, Fairburn, Georgia-based Pangborn is now the third largest wheel blast company in the world.
The Othello Group, with operations in Germany and Italy, has an installed base of more than 2,000 machines across Europe and Asia. The company provides complementary product lines to those of Pangborn, a manufacturer of surface preparation equipment and services.
Wheelabrator’s sale of the Othello Group companies was precipitated by a divestiture order from the German government’s antitrust department, the Bundeskartellamt.
Pangborn is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Capital Equipment Resources, which in turn is controlled by Atlas Holdings. The purchase of the Wheelabrator operations is representative of the investment strategy of Atlas Holdings, as it continues to acquire businesses in industries that are challenged by the current economic environment.
The newly expanded company under the leadership of Ken Dickson, who serves as president and chief executive of both CER and Pangborn, anticipates significant growth in market share in North America and internationally.
‘This expands our product offering to better service our customers around the globe and also positions us for new growth and further development in the surface preparation industry,’ Dickson says.
Timothy Fazio, managing partner of Atlas Holdings, says: ‘The acquisition of the European entities is consistent with Atlas’ investment strategy. The businesses participate in an industry we understand well, this transaction was complex and executed under a tight timeframe and the purchase allows us to leverage our terrific management team.’
