CLEVELAND, March 6, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Lincoln Electric
Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: LECO) today announced that it has acquired
Weartech International, Inc., a privately-held producer of
cobalt-based hard facing and wear-resistant welding
consumables.
Weartech is headquartered in Anaheim,
California, with manufacturing plants in Anaheim and Port Talbot, Wales. The
company has annual sales of approximately $40 million and employs 140 people combined at
both locations.
Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
In announcing the acquisition, John M.
Stropki, Lincoln Electric Chairman and Chief Executive
Officer, said: "The acquisition of Weartech is a continuation
of our ongoing strategy to expand the breadth of our consumable
product portfolio to better service our global customer base.
Weartech is well positioned globally in the specialized
cobalt welding consumable market, selling primarily to the high
growth energy and process chemical segments. We expect strong
growth in these segments and believe the Weartech product line will
help expand and deepen our relationships with key global
customers."
"Over the past 20 years, Weartech has provided technical
solutions to customers facing wear problems both in the United States and internationally," said
Patrick Iyer, President of Weartech.
"Joining with Lincoln will
significantly expand our distribution network and our ability to
reach these customers worldwide. Our management team, with over 150
years of combined experience, is looking forward to becoming part
of Lincoln Electric and continuing to serve our customers around
the world."
Lincoln Electric is the world leader in the design, development
and manufacture of arc welding products, robotic arc-welding
systems, plasma and oxyfuel cutting equipment and has a leading
global position in the brazing and soldering alloys market.
Headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio,
Lincoln has 42 manufacturing
locations, including operations and joint ventures in 19 countries
and a worldwide network of distributors and sales offices covering
more than 160 countries. For more information about Lincoln
Electric, its products and services, visit the Company's website at
http://www.lincolnelectric.com.
The Company's expectations and beliefs concerning the future
contained in this news release are forward-looking statements
within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act
of 1995. These statements reflect management's current expectations
and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking
statements generally can be identified by the use of words such as
"may," "will," "expect," "intend," "estimate," "anticipate,"
"believe," "forecast," "guidance" or words of similar meaning.
Actual results may differ materially from such statements due to a
variety of factors that could adversely affect the Company's
operating results. The factors include, but are not limited to:
general economic and market conditions; the effectiveness of post
acquisition integration efforts; and market risks and price
fluctuations related to the purchase of commodities and energy. For
additional discussion, see "Item 1A. Risk Factors" in the Company's
Annual Report on Form 10-K.
SOURCE Lincoln Electric Holdings, Inc.