Ahlstrom to acquire filtration business of Lantor in the USA and China
Ahlstrom Corporation, a leader in high performance fiber-based solutions, announced today that it has acquired the filtration business of Lantor, Inc. including the manufacturing site in the USA and is acquiring their China operation as well.
The transaction reinforces Ahlstrom's position in the automotive and air filtration markets by adding additional needlepunch nonwoven production capacity and by expanding its product portfolio with high temperature dust filtration and other specialty filtration products. Ahlstrom is one of the leading filtration media suppliers globally and this acquisition further strengthens the company's expansion strategy to become a major supplier to the air, liquid and transportation filtration markets.
The Lantor acquisition will add approximately $20 million (EUR 17 million) in sales to Ahlstrom's filtration business and includes the Bellingham, MA, USA facility and will include the facility in Wuxi, China, which started production in May 2005. The new entity in the USA will operate under the name Ahlstrom Lantor LLC. The remaining businesses of Lantor, Inc. are not affected by this transaction.
"By continuing to add high quality nonwoven products to our filtration portfolio, we will be well positioned to offer customers an extensive range of competitive and innovative products for virtually all filtration applications", commented Scott Murdock, VP of Filtration for North America.
"China with increasing power generation needs and growing industrial manufacturing has a high demand for air filtration products". The fact that Lantor has built a successful filtration business in the US and that they have transferred this knowledge to China will allow Ahlstrom to accelerate its presence in this geography", added Randal Davis, Sr. VP Filtration, "The recent expansion of Ahlstrom's South Korea site coupled with Lantor's Wuxi China location provides a solid platform to serve customers in Asia".
Contacts:
Jukka Moisio, President & CEO, + 358 (0)10 888 4700, jukka.moisio@ahlstrom.com
Randal Davis, Sr. VP, Filtration, +1 860 654 8320, randal.davis@ahlstrom.com
Ahlstrom in brief:
Ahlstrom is the global leader in the development, manufacture and marketing of high performance fiber-based materials. Nonwovens and specialty papers, made by Ahlstrom, are used in a large variety of everyday products, e.g. in filters, wipes, flooring, labels, and tapes. The company has a strong market position in all business areas in which it operates, built upon the company's unique fiber expertise and innovative approach. Ahlstrom's 5,700 employees serve customers via sales offices and production facilities in more than 20 countries on five continents. In 2004, Ahlstrom's net sales amounted to EUR 1.6 billion. The company website is www.ahlstrom.com.