KMT acquires I-R waterjet cutting business

Citation

(2004), "KMT acquires I-R waterjet cutting business", Industrial Robot, Vol. 31 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/ir.2004.04931aab.002

KMT acquires I-R waterjet cutting business

KMT acquires I-R waterjet cutting business

Keywords: Waterjet, Cutting

Ingersoll-Rand has withdrawn from the waterjet cutting industry. In October 2003, it announced the sale of Waterjet, its US-based business making high pressure water pumps and other waterjet cutting products, to Swedish company Karolin Machine Tool AB (KMT). At the same time, KMT has acquired the assets of Ingersoll-Rand's 49 per cent holding in ABB I-R Waterjet Systems AB, in a deal valued at USD 46.5 million.

Based in Stockholm, KMT is a growing machine tool group, making sheet metalworking machines, precision grinding and polishing machines, pipe forming machines and related tools under the trademarks LMT (Lidkoping), UVA, Pullmax, Ursviken and Herber. The group employs a total of 550 people and reports annual sales of approximately USD 120 million. The acquisition of Ingersoll-Rand's US Waterjet adds a further 160 people and USD 32 million in annual sales. The waterjet cutting market has experienced strong underlying growth in recent years, which is set to continue, says Lars Bergstrom, KMT's CEO and President. Most importantly, new high pressure pumps are in development that will reduce the cost of waterjet cutting systems in the future, he adds.