Continental Group expands industrial hose business

Source: China National Chemical News July 11, 2019

Recently, Continental has reached an agreement with the Italian Merlett Group to acquire its flexible hose business. Through this acquisition, Continental will expand its material expertise beyond the rubber sector, especially high-performance thermoplastic technologies and solutions. At the same time, Continental will increase the level of diversification of its product portfolio and expand its regional distribution in Europe and other places.

The agreement includes the acquisition of all businesses of the Merlett Group, including three factories in Italy and Switzerland, and a comprehensive sales network covering 12 European countries. The total number of employees is nearly 500. The acquisition must be approved by the relevant antitrust agency. Both parties agreed not to disclose the terms of the transaction.

Andreas Gerstenberger, head of Continental’s Industrial Fluid Solutions Division, said: \"Smart hose solutions will help Continental’s customers and industrial companies improve production efficiency and economic efficiency, and technical expertise in the field of thermoplastics is a key element in this regard. Because of this, we expanded the technology portfolio by acquiring the Merlett Group.\"According to the plan, the Merlett Group will be merged into the Industrial Fluid Solutions Division.

Compared with rubber, thermoplastic hoses are lighter and more flexible. At the same time, these hoses can also meet the requirements of industrial specifications, such as antistatic, oil resistance and low temperature resistance.

The Merlett Group was founded by the Tamborini family in 1952 and has grown into a leading flexible plastic hose manufacturer in Europe. The company designs, manufactures and sells various types of hoses to serve the agricultural, industrial, construction, transportation and food industries.