Textron Acquires French Pump Manufacturer
The acquisition complements Textron's oil and gas product line, provides additional capacity, and strengthens its position in European, North African, and Asia markets. KSB Annecy's 1998 revenues were approximately $40 million.
"This acquisition provides additional manufacturing capacity for our existing product portfolio and adds a new line of multiphase subsea completion pumps, serving a market where we anticipate solid growth," says Textron Fluid and Power Systems president Bob Geckle.
Multiphase subsea completion pumps operate on the seabed rather than a platform. They can extract oil at water depths not ordinarily considered viable using conventional pumps.
KSB Annecy designs and manufactures pumps at its single facility in Annecy. Textron plans to sell the company's products under the name David Brown Guinard Pumps. In addition to David Brown, the Textron Fluid Handling Products portfolio also includes Union Pumps, Maag, and LCI polymer products (which Textron distributes). The business is part of Textron's $1 billion Fluid and Power Systems Group, a manufacturer of mechanical power transmission, motion control and fluid handling products.
Textron's acquisition of KSB Annecy follows KSB's decision to withdraw from worldwide oil extraction, transportation, and refinery markets other than India and Brazil. In these two countries, KSB will provide distribution support for Textron products.
Edited by Alan S. Brown