LOUIS, MO – On April 20th 2015, Fair Friend Group (FFG) signed an agreement with K.R. Pfiffner AG (Pfiffner Group) to acquire all shares of the Pfiffner companies. Soon the transaction will be finalized once there has been confirmation by the relevant authorities. This deal adds high precision, high volume machining to an already impressive portfolio of brands in FFG’s Machine Tool Division.
Pfiffner’s partner in the Americas, Hydromat Inc., headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, is optimistic about the future with the FFG led Pfiffner Group, “I met with Luigi Maniglio, President of FFG Werke GmbH prior to the announcement of this acquisition and I believe that he and his team are fully engaged in the growth and advancement of FFG’s Machine Tool Division. Because of this, the Pfiffner Group will be stronger and more innovative than ever, and that will make Hydromat Inc. even more successful and better able to meet the demands of our customers,” commented Bruno Schmitter, President & CEO of Hydromat Inc., “We are very pleased with this partnership.”
The agreements between Hydromat Inc. and the Pfiffner Group will remain the same as before and interviews with Hydromat Inc. management express an excitement about the involvement of the FFG acquisition, “It (Pfiffner) should be a very strong enterprise moving forward. Jimmy Chu and FFG have a reputation for investing in and building great machine tool companies, not dismantling them. We are very happy that our partner, Pfiffner, an already excellent company, will be guaranteed a very bright future,” said Matthias Walter, Executive Vice President & CSO for Hydromat Inc.
FFG Werke GmbH is an independent group member of the global FFG family that benefits from the leadership of Fair Friend Group. In 2013 FFG acquired six European machine tool brands; VDF Boehringer, Hüller Hille, Hessapp, Honsberg, Modul and Witzig & Frank. In 2014 Hydromat Inc. became the sales and service organization in North America for Witzig & Frank, a previous partner of Hydromat Inc. for many years.
FFG’s Machine tool sector has 19 brands and 31 machine tool enterprises mostly in Taiwan, Japan, S. Korea, China, the USA, Italy, Germany, and now adds Switzerland to their map. Within the FFG group, the machine tool division generates approximately 1.8 billion Dollars of total sales of about 3.3 billion US Dollars. As a member of a global conglomerate with manufacturing plants in Europe, Asia and the Americas, Pfiffner group will have access to the technology, sales, and service capacities of FFG, creating the potential for expanded growth. The FFG group has a strong financial record and always looks to invest further in its technologies and customer support capacities.
“The growth strategy that FFG employs is perfectly in line with the needs of the Pfiffner Group, and it will enhance their already stellar reputation for innovation, quality and precision in the rotary transfer sector,” added Kevin Meehan, Hydromat’s Executive Vice President & COO for Hydromat Inc., “This development will solidify their position as the leader in the CNC rotary transfer segment, and our customers are sure to benefit from future technological developments driven by a stronger Pfiffner.”
Hydromat, Inc. is the industry leader in the Americas for the manufacture and assembly of precision transfer machines that include; EPIC R/T Rotary, Inline, and Trunnion models, as well as the revolutionary multi-station ICON 6-250, 6-150, and 8-150 Mill/Turn Productivity Centers. Hydromat has a reputation built on a commitment to product quality, customer service and technological innovation that provides the correct productivity solution for their customers.
