Montreal-based GL&V on Tuesday said it plans to acquire the Salt Lake-based Eimco Process Equipment division of Baker Hughes Inc.
Eimco supplies technologies for processes that separate liquids and solids. The technology is used in industries such as chemicals and petrochemicals, mining and minerals, municipal and industrial water treatment, power generation and wastewater treatment.
Eimco's sales in its most recent fiscal year totaled $180 million. The company, in business for more than 100 years, has about 400 employees in Salt Lake City.
GL&V said Eimco's base of installed equipment throughout the world has "considerable potential" for GL&V's main business segment, aftermarket services.
Founded in 1975, GL&V designs, manufactures, upgrades and services engineered equipment used in pulp and paper production and in liquid/solid separation processes. It has about 1,200 employees in 40 countries.
"This highly strategic acquisition would make a major contribution to GL&V's sales and profit growth," Laurent Verreault, president and chief executive officer of GL&V, said in a prepared statement.
"Given the synergies between our organizations, expertise and international networks, we believe we can create significant economies of scale annually within three years. In addition, this acquisition would triple our Process Group's sales, which would fit perfectly with our strategic goal of better balancing our revenues between our two major business segments: the Pulp and Paper Group and the Process Group."
The Eimco acquisition would reduce the proportion of revenues from the pulp and paper industry segment of GL&V from 70 percent to about 40 percent of GL&V's total business, he said.
"Finally, like GL&V, Eimco outsources most of its manufacturing to an international network of subcontractors and operates only one plant, in Salt Lake City, which represents a great advantage in terms of operational profitability and flexibility," Verreault said.
Financial terms were not announced. The acquisition would be GL&V's largest, and it could be completed by the end of October. It would be financed with bank debt.
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