Roto buys Union Ltd of China
18th July 2017

Roto Frank AG has announced the acquisition of Union Ltd, a family-owned Chinese manufacturer of components and semi-finished parts for window and door hardware, in a move that the group describes as ‘supporting free trade instead of isolation’.

The group has assured other Union customers, including possible competitors of Roto, that Union will remain ‘a reliable partner’ for them as an independent business, rather than an integrated part of the group.

The takeover, for an undisclosed sum, is expected to come into effect within the next three months.

Group chairman Dr. Eckhard Keill says the purchase is based on a long-established business relationship with Union, which has been operating as a supplier of zinc and aluminium die-cast parts for many years.

Union with around 450 employees has a range including powder coating as well as various die-casting and injection moulding processes.

Group chief financial officer Michael Stangier said: “The sustained strong financial position easily enables the realisation of this acquisition. This once again demonstrates the economic stability of the Roto Group, that achieved a turnover of EUR 622 million in 2016 with around 4,500 employees. It clearly shows that this plays an increasingly important role for customers in Germany and abroad when choosing their industrial partners.

The management responsibility for Union will transfer to Roto in the short term. However, the company will continue as an independent business in the future and will not be integrated into the group.

Dr Keill describes the current investment as the “next step of an offensive strategy that is fully focused on meeting market and customer requirements all over the world”, adding that “success requires a consistent commitment to free trade instead of isolation.”