German lubricant manufacturer Fuchs SE signed a letter of intent to acquire Swiss lubricant company Strub & Co. AG, affording Fuchs direct access to the Swiss market.
Switzerland’s population of 8.8 million people, vehicle parc of 6.4 million and thriving machinery, electrical engineering and metals industry make it a small yet attractive market.
The country also exported about U.S.$1.44 million worth of lubricant additives last year, equating to 225,230 kilograms. It imported 2.2 million metric tons in the same year, with China, Singapore and neighboring Germany combined accounting for about one third of that amount.
Taking over Strub also gives Fuchs a research and production plant in Switzerland in addition to easier market access. A key argument in favor of the acquisition is the similarity of interests and approaches of the two companies, said the company in a press release.
Fuchs says it intends to pool all of its business activities in Switzerland into a single entity including Strub and the Swiss subsidiary of the Lubcon Group, which it acquired in April this year. Lubcon develops and manufactures greases, oils and pastes for railways, roller bearings, paper mills, textiles factories, food producers, pharmaceutical companies and wind power generators.