Metso increases Australian footprint
GLOBAL industrial company METSO has stengthened its Australian market position in mining services with the aquisition of wear lining solutions provider WEARX for an undisclosed sum.
Headquartered in Newcastle, and with operations in Ballina, Orange and Perth, WEARX has about 140 employees and recorded FY17 sales of $35 million.
WEARX chief Gary Newman said the company had worked hard to turn itself into an agile service provider, but the backing of a larger company was neccessary to unlock “our full potential”.
“With the funding of the next phase of our company’s growth in mind, we decided that a full trade sale to a large, likeminded company was the best way to continue the evolution of our business.”
Metso’s senior vice president for the Australian Market Areas Ross Wotherspoon said the aquisition was part of a wider company strategy which included both organic growth and growth through aquisitions.
’We want to make sure that the transition goes smoothly, especially for staff and customers,” Mr Wotherspoon said.
“The retention of WEARX’s agility and entrepreneurial spirit is a fundamental success factor.”
The companies have assembled a dedicated team to work on all aspects of the integration, expected to take about 6 months.