Tool manufacturer will expand in Racine; Ball Corp. acquires can manufacturing plant in Fort Atkinson; Carolina firm acquires Franklin manufacturer; Actuant still in black after ‘challenging’ fiscal year; Modine stock offering raises $93 million
Tool manufacturer will expand in Racine
A&E Incorporated will consolidate its operations by moving its production from Texas to Racine, retaining 140 jobs and creating 28 new jobs in Racine.
The company has several locations within Racine County.
As A&E deliberated about its consolidation options, it contacted the Racine County Economic Development Corp. (RCEDC) to assist with the project. Operating funds for the RCEDC are provided by both Racine County and the City of Racine.
The company will receive a $23,000 Workforce Advancement Training grant from the Wisconsin Technical College System and a tax credit allocation of $862,000 from the Wisconsin Department of Commerce.
John Lang, chairman of the board and chief executive officer of A&E, said, "There were several aspects considered as we contemplated expanding the Texas location or consolidating the Texas operations into the Racine facility. Factors such as local support for our company, the skill set of the local workforce and the necessary training and adult education programs to support our manufacturing operation helped us choose Wisconsin."
Racine County Executive William McReynolds said, "The partnerships that we have created in Racine County, in this case the RCEDC, the Racine County Workforce Development Center, UW-Parkside and Gateway Technical College were instrumental in meeting the company’s needs."
Racine Mayor John Dickert said, "The city is pleased to retain this important employer and we are anxious to work with them as they bring new employees into our great city. Racine will be a partner with A&E as they prepare their growth plans for the future. This project reflects the city’s premier manufacturing location in the Chicago-Milwaukee corridor, as well as the partnership among local government and development organizations to create and retain jobs in our community."
Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle said, "I have worked hard as governor to make Wisconsin a friendly place to do business and am thrilled that A&E has decided to consolidate its operations here in Wisconsin. Now, more than ever, it’s important we continue to invest in good companies like A&E which are committed to providing jobs for hardworking Wisconsin families."
A&E manufactures hand tools, specialty tools for the transportation industry, diagnostics and compression testing, and high quality metal stampings.
Ball Corp. acquires can manufacturing plant in Fort Atkinson
Ball Corp. has completed its acquisition of four of AB InBev’s U.S. beverage can manufacturing plants, including a plant in Fort Atkinson.
Broomfield, Colo.-based Ball acquired the four plants and their associated contracts for $577 million, subject to customary post-closing adjustments. In addition to Fort Atkinson, the other plants are located in Rome, Ga.; Columbus, Ohio; and Gainesville, Fla.
The facilities employ approximately 635 people and produce annually approximately 10 billion aluminum cans and 10 billion can ends. More than two-thirds of the cans are produced for leading soft drink companies and the rest for AB InBev, a Belgium-based company that was created when IUnterbrew acquired Anheuser-Busch Inc.
Carolina firm acquires Franklin manufacturer
Carlisle Companies Incorporated has acquired privately-held Electronic Cable Specialists Inc. (ECS), a Franklin-based designer and manufacturer of electrical and structural products and services for the aviation, medical and industrial markets.
ECS offers customer-specific solutions ranging from individual electrical and structural products to fully integrated systems to support airframe manufacturers, aircraft operators and electronic equipment manufacturers worldwide. The company’s annual sales are $50 million, and it has various distribution points in the United States, France and the United Kingdom.
ECS will operate as part of Carlisle Interconnect Technologies.
Financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.
David Roberts, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Charlotte, N.C.-based Carlisle, said, "ECS complements our specialty wire and cable operations and broadens our product and engineering capabilities for our commercial and defense airframe customers. ECS’s product and service capabilities are at the forefront of new developments in avionics and commercial aircraft comfort and business communications. The company has an award-winning reputation for satisfying the demanding requirements of a customer base that is shared with our Carlisle Interconnect Technologies. This acquisition furthers our plan to grow Carlisle’s businesses in attractive markets in which we play a leading role. ECS will bring many beneficial attributes to Carlisle and with the backing of our resources, the company promises to become an excellent growth platform for Carlisle."
Actuant still in black after ‘challenging’ fiscal year
Actuant Corp. has reported fiscal fourth quarter net earnings of $16.5 million, or 24 cents per share, which were down from $34.2 million, or 54 cents per share, in the same period a year ago.
The Butler-based company, which will move its headquarters to Menomonee Falls, reported fourth quarter consolidated sales of $290 million, down 26 percent from $393 million a year earlier.
Actuant’s sales for the full fiscal year ended Aug. 31 were $1.2 billion, down 23 percent from $1.6 billion in the prior year.
"We are pleased to have finished out this challenging fiscal year with strong cash flow, stabilization in the majority of our businesses and continued solid execution on our restructuring actions. Our sales, earnings and earnings per share, adjusted for special items and the equity offering, were in line with our expectations as benefits from cost reduction and restructuring activities were realized," said Robert Arzbaecher, chairman and chief executive officer of Actuant. "In addition to cost structure improvements, I am encouraged by Actuant’s continued strong working capital management and cash flow generation. Despite terrible economic conditions over the past year, Actuant generated $147 million in operating cash flow in fiscal 2009. We have used this economic crisis as a catalyst for driving our operations to new performance levels which resulted in significant operating and working capital improvements across our businesses globally. I want to thank our leadership team and all employees for capturing and institutionalizing these improvements."
Modine stock offering raises $93 million
Modine Manufacturing Co. has raised $93 million in its most recent stock offering of 13.8 million shares, selling at $7.15 per share.
Racine-based Modine, a diversified global leader in thermal management technology and solutions, will use the funds to reduce debt and for general corporate purposes.
J.P. Morgan was the book-running manager and Robert W. Baird & Co. Inc. was the lead manager for the offering. Comerica Securities and KeyBanc Capital Markets acted as co-managers.
