Tamglass and Z. Bavelloni to join forces through acquisition

Z. Bavelloni Immobiliare is the holding company for Z. Bavelloni S.p.A., the leading manufacturer of pre-processing equipment for the glass and stone industries. Glasto B.V. is the holding company for an international group of sales and service companies serving the glass and stone industries with Bavelloni machines and tools as main products. These acquisitions make Kyro’s Glass Technology business group the largest supplier of glass processing machinery world wide and expand the group’s business also to stone processing machinery. The acquisitions create a close co-operation between Z. Bavelloni, Glasto, and Tamglass, as all companies will be fully owned subsidiaries of Kyro Corporation.

- This co-operation will widen our customer base and offer customers the benefits of the strongest ever combination of glass processing and industry knowledge, products and services enhanced by global customer support and logistical efficiency, says Mr Dino Bavelloni, President and CEO of Z. Bavelloni.

- The acquisitions are a very important step in Kyro’s growth strategy. With these acquisitions Kyro develops from being the market leader in safety glass machines to becoming the leading equipment supplier for the whole glass processing industry. We expect the co-operation between Tamglass and Bavelloni to result in significant benefits for the glass processing customers of both companies, says Mr Pentti Yliheljo, President and CEO of Kyro and Tamglass.

Both Tamglass and Z. Bavelloni continue to further strengthen their businesses under their own brand names and with their existing organizations by developing their high quality product lines. The companies will utilize synergies in sales, logistics, and after-sales services. Largest synergies are expected from widened customer contacts and the selling of products from both companies to their combined customer base in the global markets.

- Additionally, Z. Bavelloni can further strengthen the role of Glass Processing Days as the largest and most important professional and educational conference in the world of glass complemented with a web portal Glassfiles.com by GPD, adds Mr Pentti Yliheljo. Glass Processing Days is organised by Tamglass, and in 2001 it attracted over 850 global glass industry experts, and 75% of the audience represented owners, presidents, general directors and managers of glass companies.

Tamglass is the world technology and market leader in safety glass processing machinery with over 50 % market share in its main product areas. Tamglass net sales in 2001 was EUR 120.9 million and grew by 30 % organically. Operating profit was EUR 15.2 million.

Z. Bavelloni is the leading company in glass pre-processing technology and the world leader in edge-working machinery and related tools with over 30 % market share in its main product areas. Z. Bavelloni sells its products directly in Italy and through an international agent network. The sales and service companies of the Glasto Group are located in the Netherlands, France, U.K., U.S.A., Mexico, Brazil, and Singapore. The consolidated total net sales for Z. Bavelloni and Glasto Holding in 2001 was EUR 88.9 million and grew by 15.5 % organically. Consolidated operating profit was EUR 8.3 million.

Kyro Group net sales in 2001 totaled EUR 147 million from two business areas, Safety Glass Technology and Energy. The main business area, Safety Glass Technology, consists of the Tamglass Group and Uniglass Engineering. Its share of Group net sales in 2001 was about 82%, and it employs a total of 458 people. The equity ratio of the Kyro Group is close to 80 %.