HOGANAS, Sweden, April 1, 2003 (PRIMEZONE) -- Hoganas AB yesterday completed the acquisition of SCM Metal Products, Inc., USA, a manufacturer of specialty iron and metal powders. SCM formerly was owned by OM Group, Inc., a metals and mining company headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio. The purchase price amounted to MUSD 65. The acquisition, which has an effective date of 1 January 2003, is expected to make a positive contribution to the Hoganas Group's earnings for the current year.
SCM produces broad range of powdered metal products, including stainless steel metal powders, gas-atomized nickel powders, electrolytic iron powders, copper powders, copper oxides, and special copper-aluminum alloys. SCM's specialty product offerings include GlidCop(R), a high strength copper alloy of high conductivity, and Cubond(R), a brazing paste widely used in the automotive industry. For 2002, SCM recorded a turnover of about MUSD 80 and employs about 200 employees in its production facilities at Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina and at Johnstown, Pennsylvania. SCM's North Carolina facility also houses a research and development center that provides technical support to customers and carries out new initiatives to expand SCM's product line.
Claes Lindqvist, Hoganas AB President and Chief Executive Officer, said "SCM's strong position in the North American market will be of great strategic value to Hoganas Group's Coldstream Division, which is now well-placed in the European and Asian markets. And with Hoganas AB's global sales network, SCM's products should be able to achieve good penetration outside North America. The combination will in the future allow us to coordinate the production."
Lindqvist added that "we are especially pleased to welcome the many valuable and experienced members of the SCM staff that are joining the Hoganas Group. We are convinced that their contributions will strengthen the Hoganas Group's position as market leader."
SCM will become an independent unit of the Hoganas Group's operations in North America, which include a state-of-the-art powder production facility at Stony Creek, Johnstown, Pennsylvania and a plant at Niagara Falls, New York.
The Hoganas Group is the largest producer of iron and metal powders. The products are used for a wide variety of applications, including for the powdered metallurgy manufacture of components for automobiles, appliances, and equipment, and for use in welding, friction, and other industrial products. In 2002 the Hoganas Group had approx. 1,400 employees and reported a turnover of around M US $350.