Eaton Acquires European Cylinder Head Company

3 August 1998

Eaton Acquires European Cylinder Head Company

    CLEVELAND--Aug. 3, 1998--Eaton Corporation announced today that it has acquired the assets of Amtec S.p.A., a privately-owned manufacturer of automotive cylinder heads, for an undisclosed amount. Amtec, which is headquartered near Turin, Italy, has 78 employees and had 1997 sales of $27 million.
    Founded in 1986, Amtec precision-machines aluminum cylinder head castings and assembles the castings and other components, including Eaton engine valves, into completed cylinder head units. The cylinder head units are sold to automotive original equipment manufacturers throughout Europe.
    In October, 1997 Eaton and Amtec established a joint venture to produce cylinder head units in Brazil for South American customers. With today's announcement, the joint venture also becomes wholly owned by Eaton.
    "This acquisition is an excellent fit with our existing engine components business and is an important step in our goal to establish Eaton as a global valvetrain system designer and supplier," said Larry M. Oman, Eaton Senior Vice President-Automotive Components. "Amtec has a reputation for manufacturing quality products, and our working relationship with them in Brazil has been outstanding.
    "It is our longer-term objective to become a global leader in the development and manufacture of air management systems for worldwide auto and truck manufacturers. Today's announcement will help us reach that goal. Combined with our current line-up of engine components, including engine valves, valve lifters and engine superchargers, the addition of cylinder head expertise will add significantly to our capability," Oman said.
    Amtec, which has had steady sales growth from about $6 million in 1994 to $27 million last year, also manufactures and sells other engine components. The company's primary customer is VM Motori, an Italian subsidiary of Detroit Diesel Corporation.
    Eaton Corporation is a global manufacturer of highly engineered products which serve industrial, vehicle, construction, commercial and semiconductor markets. Principal products include electrical power distribution and control equipment, truck transmissions and axles, engine components, hydraulic products, ion implanters and a wide variety of controls. Headquartered in Cleveland, the company has 49,000 employees and 150 manufacturing sites in 25 countries around the world. Sales for 1997 were $7.6 billion.