In a move to expand its footprint in the commercial vehicle wheel market, US company Accuride has reached an agreement to acquire Germany's Mefro Wheels, a key supplier of steel wheels to the European and Asian truck and trailer market.
Headquartered in the western German town of in Solingen, Mefro is privately owned and maintains manufacturing operations in Germany, France, Turkey, Russia and China.
“The strategic acquisition of Mefro Wheels will solidify Accuride’s position for future growth as a supplier of wheel end solutions to the global commercial vehicle industry, enabling us to better serve the needs of our global customers,” Accuride President and CEO, Rick Dauch, commented.
“The addition of Mefro Wheels will extend Accuride’s geographic reach, expand our truck and trailer wheel offering in Europe, Russia and Asia and further diversify the end-markets we serve with passenger car and off-road construction and agriculture businesses.
“Combining our complementary product offerings, operations and customer relationships will enable us to serve as a dependable source of high-quality wheels and wheel-end components for our global customers across a broad range of on-road and off-road applications.”
Accuride first began its global expansion in November 2015 by acquiring a majority stake in Gianetti Ruote, a commercial vehicle steel-wheel supplier based out of Milan, Italy.
The pending addition of Mefro Wheels now marks Accuride’s second major acquisition under the ownership of New York-based private equity firm, Crestview Partners.
In May 2017, the company acquisition of KIC, a global supplier of commercial vehicle wheels and wheel-end components based in Vancouver, Washington.
“Accuride’s acquisition of Mefro Wheels will create a global commercial vehicle wheel and wheel-end component supplier employing approximately 5,000 people at 15 manufacturing facilities in North America, Europe, Russia and the Asia-Pacific region,” the company summarised.
The deal is subject to routine anti-trust approval in several European jurisdictions – making it difficult to estimate the timing for the completion of the transaction, Accuride told Global Trailer.