Privately-held Gerstenberg Schroeder had annual revenues of approximately US$65 million in 2008 and supplies processing lines for the manufacture of crystallized fat products such as margarine, butter, spreads and shortening, as well as emulsified food products such as mayonnaise, sauces and dressings.
“This transaction, which fully meets our strategic and financial criteria, underscores our commitment to growing our process equipment business by strengthening our global food processing technology, equipment offerings and systems capabilities,” said SPX chairman, president and CEO Christopher Kearney. “The addition of Gerstenberg Schroeder will broaden our portfolio of food processing components, including high-capacity scraped surface heat exchangers, and further enhance our competencies in designing the turnkey, scalable food processing systems that more and more of our food industry customers are seeking.”
“More and more food manufacturers are seeking food processing systems that can optimize the production quality, efficiency, reliability and scale of their operations,” explained Don Canterna, SPX Flow Technology segment president. “We believe that combining Gerstenberg Schroeder’s food processing expertise with the deep knowledge base and experience of APV, Waukesha Cherry-Burrell and other SPX brands will help further elevate our position as a global food processing systems provider. In addition to enhancing our food technology research and development efforts, this acquisition will enable us to offer our customers an even broader array of process equipment components to choose from, and bring more resources to bear in configuring the optimal turnkey processing system to meet their business needs.”