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Rexnord buys metal belt-maker Cambridge for $210m
Published:  19 May, 2016

Rexnord is buying the US-based metal conveyor belt manufacturer, Cambridge International Holdings, for an estimated $210m. Cambridge is one of the world’s largest suppliers of metal conveying and engineered woven metal systems, used mainly in food processing, as well as in architectural, packaging and filtration applications.

Cambridge aligns well with our strategy to expand our presence in consumer-driven end-markets,” says Rexnord’s president and CEO, Todd Adams. “The acquisition, when completed, will bring our total sales to water, aerospace, and food and beverage end-markets to more than 70% of total revenues that should, over time, generate a better balanced, overall growth profile.”

Kevin Zaba, president of Rexnord’s Process and Motion Control platform, adds that “the combination of Cambridge’s leadership in food applications and Rexnord’s strength across the global beverage industry, yields an unequalled portfolio of food and beverage conveying solutions that we are confident will create additional value for customers, associates and shareholders”.

Cambridge employs around 300 people. It began weaving wire cloth in 1911 when New-York-based Estey Wire Works opened a plant in Cambridge, Maryland. In 1915, its superintendent Edward Pink, bought the facility and renamed it Cambridge Wire Cloth. One of his first customers was Thomas Edison who used Cambridge mesh in his chemical factory.

By the 1920s, Cambridge Wire Cloth was making a woven wire belt for high-temperature ovens that is still in production. A pair of craftsmen from the company later launched Maryland Wire Belts in nearby Church Creek. The two companies merged in 1998 to form Cambridge International, the world’s largest manufacturer of metal conveyor belts.

Cambridge International's product portfolio includes metal conveyor belts

Milwaukee-based Rexnord has two strategic platforms – Process & Motion Control and Water Management – and employs around 7,700 people worldwide. The Process & Motion Control division designs and manufactures highly-engineered mechanical components used in complex systems. The Water Management division designs and manufactures products that provide and enhance water quality, safety, flow control and conservation.

The acquisition is expected to close in the next 30 days.