Smithers Buys Out U.K. Firm - Tire Review Magazine

Smithers Buys Out U.K. Firm

(Akron/Tire Review) Akron-based Smithers Group purchased U.K.’s Rapra Technology.

Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Rapra Technology, which was forced into bankruptcy on Mar. 8, will be a wholly owned subsidiary of Smithers Group.

Rapra’s 118 employees at its head office in Shawbury, Shropshire, and at its Billingham site will remain.

Commenting on the acquisition, Smithers CEO and president Michael Hochschwender said, "We are delighted that Rapra Technology has joined our portfolio of companies. We were particularly attracted to Rapra because of the synergy between its activities and our own. Like Rapra, we are also long established and independent. Its diverse range of analytical, testing, research and information services to the rubber and plastics industry complements our activities in the U.S. Rapra will provide a critical link to the U.K. and European markets, particularly in the automotive and pharmaceutical sectors."

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