Hawk Expands Asian Capabilities
The acquisition is related to Hawk's recent initiatives in China that are designed to allow Hawk to capture more of the Asian friction markets.
Hawk Corporation (NYSE Amex: HWK) announced today the acquisition of certain assets of Sangte Plate Manufacturing Company, Ltd. located in Suzhou, China, near Hawk's existing Chinese facility. Sangte has been a supplier of steel backing and opposing plates used in Hawk's Chinese based manufacturing for many years. Sangte's production capacity and technology will be integrated into Hawk's internal processes, as Hawk continues to expand its capabilities in Asia. Terms of the transaction were not announced.
As part of these initiatives, Hawk has established a research and development department in its Chinese facility which will be led by Hawk's former head of North American Research and Development, Rich Dowell. Rich possesses over 30 years of friction technology expertise. By relocating to Suzhou full-time to lead engineering and build a local research and development capability, Rich will take Hawk's China organization to a new level of self-sufficiency. Hawk considers it a significant competitive advantage that its employees and customers in the region will have access to Rich's deep knowledge and expertise. Further, the Company announced that it has enhanced its testing capability in China and added additional sales personnel to further serve the Asian friction markets.
Ronald E. Weinberg, Chairman and CEO of Hawk, stated, "These initiatives are part of our plan to further build our business in one of the fastest growing and largest economies in the world. We are not in Asia simply as a cost saving mechanism, but as part of a long-term strategic plan. The localization of manufacturing, sales and marketing combined with research and development of advanced products in China, are all part of our efforts to better serve our customers in Asia."
