Neenah Paper seals Crane Technical Materials acquisition

Neenah Paper seals Crane Technical Materials acquisition

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INDEX/NEWS

Filtration Company Index Ahlstrom Aker Solutions Alfa Laval Amiad Andritz Aquarion Asahi Kasei Bilfinger Bioquell Biwater BluMetric Environmental BWT Cantel Medical CECO Environmental Clarcor CNP Crane Crane Technical Papers Culligan Cummins Davey Water Products DESMI Ocean Guard Donaldson Dow Water & Process Solutions DuPont Eaton Entegris Enviro Voraxial Esco Technologies Evatherm Fiberweb FLSmidth Freudenberg GE GEA GLV GUD Holdings H2O Innovation Hager + Elsaesser HaloSource Hyflux Indutrade ItN Nanovation ITT John Crane Kalogeo Koch Membrane Systems Lanxess Layne Christensen LiqTech Lindsay Lydall 3M Memstar Merck Metso MFRI Mycelx Technologies NanoH2O Nederman Neenah Paper Nitto Outotec Pall Parker Hannifin Pentair PGI PMFG Polypore Poly Shield Technologies Porvair Premier Tech Aqua Provital Solutions Puradyn Sartorius Seychelle Environmental Siemens SKF SPX Suez Environnement Sulzer Tomoe Engineering Toray Toyobo United Envirotech Valmet Watts Water Weir Xylem

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Filtration Industry Analyst

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Outotec denies talk of takeover approach from Weir

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ollowing media speculation about a potential offer by The Weir Group Plc, Outotec says that it has not been approached or received a bid. In a statement, the Finnish mining technology company said: “Should Outotec receive these types of proposals the board of directors of Outotec would evaluate them thoroughly and issue a Stock Exchange Release regarding the matter.” Earlier this year, Weir walked away from a bid to acquire Metso Corp, after the Finnish engineering company rejected a revised acquisition proposal (see Filtration Industry Analyst, June 2014). For further information, visit www.outotec.com and www.weir.co.uk

Suez Environnement invests in Evatherm

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uez Environnement subsidiary Degremont has acquired a stake in Evatherm, a Swiss engineering company that specialises in evaporation and crystallization technologies. The two companies will develop water saving and zero liquid discharge (ZLD) solutions for the oil & gas, chemical, power and mining industries, by combining Evatherm’s evaporation and crystallization experience with Suez Environnement’s water and wastewater treatment capabilities. Founded in the early 1980s, Evatherm has more than 30 years of experience in evaporation and crystallization engineering. This investment in Evatherm is part of Suez Environnement’s strategy to grow in the industrial market. For further information, visit www.suezenvironnement.com and wvw.evatherm.com

Mitsubishi companies buy into Metito

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itsubishi Corp and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd are to

acquire a 38.4% share in Dubaibased water management company Metito Holdings Ltd from alternative asset manager Gulf Capital and other shareholders. Japan Bank for International Cooperation will also invest up to US$92 million in classified shares to support Metito’s growth opportunities. Metito has built more than 3000 facilities for water desalination, water and wastewater treatment and recycling, and also provides utility services in the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and China. The acquisition will allow Mitsubishi Corp and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries to expand their presence in the Middle East, Africa and Asia. For further information, visit www.mitsubishicorp.com, www.mhi-global.com, www.metito.com and www.jbic.go.jp

Neenah Paper seals Crane Technical Materials acquisition

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eenah Paper Inc has completed the purchase of Crane Technical Materials Inc from Crane & Co Inc (see Filtration Industry Analyst, June 2014). The company, to be renamed Neenah Technical Materials, provides performanceoriented wet laid nonwovens media for filtration end markets as well as for environmental, energy and industrial uses. Neenah Technical Materials has annual sales of approximately US$50 million and two manufacturing operations located in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, USA. “We are excited to move forward now as a company with an expanded manufacturing platform serving a broader base of filtration and other performanceoriented technical markets and customers,” said John O’Donnell, Neenah Paper CEO. “This acquisition clearly fits our strategy of expanding in profitable specialty niche markets with above average growth rates and attractive financial returns. In addition, it nicely complements our European filtration business and provides new technologies that represent a platform for future growth.” The US$72 million purchase price, comprised of US$64 million for the business and US$8 million related to future cash tax benefits, was financed through cash on hand. Approximately US$2 million–3 million of

July 2014

NEWS/DIVIDENDS one-time costs are expected in 2014 related to the acquisition. For further information, visit www.neenah.com and www.cranenonwovens.com

Eastman expands microfibers platform

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pecialty chemicals company Eastman Chemical Co has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire nonwovens manufacturer Knowlton Technologies LLC. Watertown, New York-based Knowlton Technologies designs, accelerates prototyping and makes wet-laid nonwovens in filtration, friction and custom designed composite webs. “Knowlton Technologies is a trusted and established leader in advanced materials with an expertise in wet-laid media prototyping and formulation development. This acquisition will bring a set of complementary skills and development capabilities that will help Eastman better innovate with our nonwovens-producing customers and accelerate the innovation cycle for microfibers in important markets like filtration,” said Tim Dell, Eastman Chemical’s vice president, innovation.

For further information, visit www.eastman.com and www.knowlton-co.com

Management buyout at Polyester Fibers

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orth American nonwoven polyester materials manufacturer Polyester Fibers LLC has completed a management-led buyout from its parent company Empire Investment Holdings. The buyout was funded by Polyester Fibers’ management team and financing was provided by JPMorgan Chase and Salem Investment Partners. Polyester Fibers manufactures and distributes precision-engineered, nonwoven

July 2014

polyester materials for the filtration, furniture and bedding, automotive, craft and seasonal markets in North America, Europe and Asia. The company’s Cumulus Fibres division has manufactured polyester media for the air filtration industry for more than 35 years, serving the industrial, commercial and residential markets. “Owning a company with high quality products and long standing customer relationships gives us a platform to unleash enormous potential,” said Keith White, president and CEO of Polyester Fibers. “That potential will drive increased market share as we focus on continuous innovation and expansion of our line of quality products to better serve our customers’ needs.” “Polyester Fibers is a great example of the kind of company we look for as investors, bringing a cohesive, experienced management team, strong client relationships and a solid track record of performance year-after-year,” said David Faris, partner, Salem Investment Partners. “Their industry experience puts them in a unique position to expand their customer base and accelerate growth in their key focus areas.” Investment bank Lincoln International acted as exclusive financial advisor to Empire and Polyester Fibers in this transaction. For further information, visit www.poly-fibers.com and www.empireih.com

Amiad expects a return to growth in 2014

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sraeli water treatment and filtration solutions producer Amiad Water Systems Ltd continues to anticipate higher revenue and net profit for the full 2014 year. In a trading update ahead of announcing its interim results for the six months ended 30 June 2014 in September 2014, Amiad says it expects revenue in the first half of 2014 to be sequentially higher than the second half of 2013, at approximately US$60 million. In the first six months of this year, Amiad’s Irrigation segment saw slight growth, the

Dividends UÊ /…iÊCummins Inc board of directors has approved a 25% increase in the company’s quarterly cash dividend on common stock to US$0.78 per share. The dividend will be paid on 2 September 2014 to shareholders of record on 22 August 2014. Cummins has also authorised the repurchase of up to US$1 billion in shares of common stock when its current US$1 billion share repurchase program is completed. “The increase in our dividend and the latest share repurchase program reinforces our commitment to increasing returns to shareholders and reflects our confidence in our performance over the long term,” said Tom Linebarger, Cummins chairman and CEO. “Cummins is demonstrating that we can produce strong returns for our shareholders, while continuing to invest in the future and meet our daily commitments to our customers with the best products and services that help them succeed.” www.cummins.com UÊ Pentair plc will distribute a regular quarterly cash dividend of US$0.30 per share on 8 August 2014 to shareholders of record on 25 July 2014. Earlier this year Pentair shareholders approved an ordinary cash dividend of US$1.20 per share in four equal quarterly installments of US$0.30 in each of the third and fourth quarters of 2014 and the first and second quarters of 2015. www.pentair.com UÊ /…iʘiÝÌÊPall Corp quarterly dividend of US$0.275 per share will be paid on 11 August 2014 to shareholders of record on 28 July 2014. www.pall.com UÊ Donaldson Co Inc’s regular cash dividend of US$0.165 per share will be payable on 5 September 2014 to shareholders of record on 15 August 2014. As of 30 April 2014, there were approximately 143 million shares outstanding. The current declaration is the 236th consecutive quarterly cash dividend paid by Donaldson over 59 years. www.donaldson.com

Filtration Industry Analyst

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