SPX to Acquire Global Food Processing Technology Supplier Gerstenberg Schroder

Privately-held Gerstenberg Schroder had annual revenues of approximately $65 million in 2008. The company is a leading supplier of modern, highly efficient processing lines for the manufacture of crystallized fat products, as well as emulsified food products.

13 Jan 2010 --- SPX Corporation has announced that its Flow Technology segment has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Gerstenberg Schroder A/S, a leading designer, manufacturer, installer and servicer of processing systems and components serving the global food industry. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed, but completion of the transaction is subject to customary closing conditions. SPX anticipates financing the transaction with cash on hand.

Privately-held Gerstenberg Schroder had annual revenues of approximately $65 million in 2008. The company is a leading supplier of modern, highly efficient processing lines for the manufacture of crystallized fat products, such as margarine, butter, spreads and shortening, as well as emulsified food products such as mayonnaise, sauces and dressings. The company's installations, which include scraped surface heat exchangers, continuous butter processing lines, emulsification equipment and in-line mixing equipment, can be found in 120 countries. Headquartered in Denmark with main offices in Germany and other countries, the company's heritage of food industry expertise dates back to the early 1900s.

"This transaction, which fully meets our strategic and financial criteria, underscores our commitment to growing our process equipment business by strengthening our global food processing technology, equipment offerings and systems capabilities," said SPX Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Christopher J. Kearney. "The addition of Gerstenberg Schroder will broaden our portfolio of food processing components, including high-capacity scraped surface heat exchangers, and further enhance our competencies in designing the turnkey, scalable food processing systems that more and more of our food industry customers are seeking."

"After operating as a family-owned business for over 100 years, we believe it is in the best interests of Gerstenberg Schroder for us to align the company with a much larger organization whose equally strong core competency in food processing will complement our own, and whose broader scope and scale will enable our company to reach its full future growth potential," said Knud Aage Gerstenberg, Chairman of the Board of Gerstenberg Schroder A/S. "We are confident that SPX is the ideal company to help take Gerstenberg Schroder to the next chapter in its evolution, and that our employees will have new opportunities to thrive under SPX's leadership."

With more than two decades of "hands-on" experience designing plants all over the world, Gerstenberg Schroder has demonstrated its expertise in managing many types of food process line installation - from low-cost, skid-mounted production units to fully computerized plants. In addition to providing standard and specially designed equipment for crystallization and kneading, the company supplies equipment for ingredients, storage facilities, emulsion preparation systems, dosing equipment, packaging equipment, control systems, SCADA systems (GS Logic), utility equipment (e.g. refrigeration plants, hot water units and water treatment plants), CIP (cleaning in place) installations, processing plant modules (installed and cabled on skids).

"More and more food manufacturers are seeking food processing systems that can optimize the production quality, efficiency, reliability and scale of their operations," added Don Canterna, SPX Flow Technology segment president. "We believe that combining Gerstenberg Schroder's food processing expertise with the deep knowledge base and experience of APV, Waukesha Cherry-Burrell and other SPX brands will help further elevate our position as a global food processing systems provider. In addition to enhancing our food technology research and development efforts, this acquisition will enable us to offer our customers an even broader array of process equipment components to choose from, and bring more resources to bear in configuring the optimal turnkey processing system to meet their business needs."

In addition to offering its customers consulting and engineering support during the design and implementation phases, Gerstenberg Schroder provides comprehensive after-sales support, equipment operation training and maintenance programs. The company's pilot plant facility in Brondby, Denmark also can be utilized by customers wishing to run cost-efficient product tests prior to making any full-scale decisions or commitments.