Grand River Rubber & Plastics Co. is aiming to make major inroads in Europe and Asia with the acquisition of a belt business in England.

The employee-owned flat drive belt, cut washer and tubular gasket manufacturer has purchased the belting division of Icon Polymer Ltd. to expand the company's operation and global reach significantly, according to Rich-ard Selip, president of Grand River Rubber.

Financial details weren't disclosed.

Icon and Grand River also are planning to explore future collaborative projects to take advantage of each firm's unique capabilities, Grand River said.

A pioneer in drive belt technology for vacuum cleaners, the acquired belting division has a large presence not only in Europe but also in China, Selip said. It supplies belts to major players in the vacuum cleaner industry, such as Electrolux and Hoover, and offers a full range of standard belt products.

Grand River and Icon are preferred suppliers to the Chinese subcontract manufacturing market, where more than 50 percent of their belt products are exported. Grand River has been supplying manufacturers in China for eight years, Selip said, garnering about $3 million in sales annually while competing directly with Icon.

Grand River, which employs about 200 and manufactures about 2 million items daily, is moving the acquired assets, including machinery, to its 100,000- sq.-ft. plant in Ashtabula from Icon's present location in England, Selip said. No personnel will relocate to the U.S. site. The transferred equipment should be up and running by the fourth quarter, he said,

Icon will absorb most of the work force that handled the belting end of the business. Selip said Icon sold the operation because it wants to focus on key elements of its business, including producing highly engineered products for the aerospace, defense, rail and off-highway vehicle industries.

Source: rubbernews.com