GEA Ecoflex GmbH acquires FlatPlate Inc. to strengthen position on plate heat exchanger market

(04/05/2006)

GEA Ecoflex GmbH, Sarstedt, controlling company of the GEA PHE Group, has taken over the US-based manufacturer of brazed plate heat exchangers FlatPlate Inc. with headquarters in York (Pennsylvania), USA.

This acquisition is a further step in the strategy of the company, based in Sarstedt/Germany, to expand its own position in the plate heat exchanger sector. The additional competence in the field of brazed plate heat exchangers supplements the existing range of products. GEA Ecoflex is renowned for gasketed and semi-welded LWC plate heat exchangers, as well as for fully welded plate heat exchangers for special applications.

According to the GEA Ecoflex management the company's own position will be considerably strengthened: "With FlatPlate we have acquired a profitable company with cutting-edge products that will enable us to logically expand and deepen our range of products. Furthermore we are consolidating our market position in the US, making our company an indispensable supplier for almost every industrial field where media have to be heated or cooled."

In the brazed plate heat exchanger sector FlatPlate has a turnover of around 12 million US dollars and is a leading player on the global market.

Within the Process Equipment Division of the international GEA Group, the GEA Plate Heat Exchanger Group (GEA PHE Group) is responsible for the plate heat exchanger business. With production facilities in Germany, Sweden and the USA, its range of products includes gasketed and brazed as well as semi-welded and fully welded plate heat exchangers.

The annual turnover of the group is over 100 million euros, with a workforce of 600 throughout the world.

The company headquarters are in Sarstedt, near Hanover, Germany, which is also a production plant for gasketed and laser-welded plate heat exchangers. Fully welded plate heat exchangers are produced both in Ratingen near Duesseldorf and in Artern / Thuringia.

The centres of competence for brazed plate heat exchangers are GEA Ecobraze in Landskrona, Sweden, GEA WTT in Wilchwitz-Nobitz, Germany and FlatPlate in York, USA.

Related categories:  Heating system components   Mergers & acquisitions