Kobe Steel Ltd. acquired isostatic press designer and manufacturer Quintus Technologies AB for a reported $115 million. The seller was Milestone Partners, a private-equity firm that established Quintus in 2015, separating it from another holding, Avure Technologies.
The Japanese company is a portfolio of heavy industrial holdings, which includes steel, aluminum, copper, and titanium products, welding robots
and systems, cranes, and construction and industrial machinery design and manufacturing. Its Kobe Aluminum Automotive Products business is a significant manufacturer and supplier of forged aluminum automotive suspension parts*. For Kobe Steel, the addition of Quintus will expand its series of isostatic processing systems, and help it to enter new markets for those products.
Isostatic presses (IP) apply high pressure from all directions, at high temperature or room temperature, to press-sinter and form metals, ceramics, or carbon materials. IP presses are used to manufacture engineered parts, including aircraft components, industrial turbine blades, and semiconductor materials.
Kobe Steel explained it is seeking to increase the profitability of its Industrial Machinery Division, including the IP business, which it describes now as “a relatively high-profit business,” though its sales over in recent years have been centered in Japan and Asia market. Market expansion has been an issue, the buyer reported.
Quintus Technologies, has manufacturing and service operations in Västerås, Sweden, and Columbus, OH, with a solid position in aerospace markets.
* This report has been revised from the original presentation to correct the description of Kobe Aluminum Automotive Products. FORGING regrets the error.
