KS Kolbenschmidt, which owns a small-bore piston plant in Marinette, will be sold to Comitans Capital AG.
Terms for the transaction which is expected to be complete by the end of March, were not released.
Around 3,650 people work at the group’s small-bore pistons plants in Neckarsulm, Germany; Marinette; Celaya, Mexico; Nova Odessa, Brazil; Trmice, Czech Republic; Hiroshima, Japan; and at the Chinese joint venture factories in Shanghai and Chongqing. The company said in a press release that operations are expected to continue at all of the plants under the current management teams.
There are 181 full time employees at the Marinette plant where a 35,000-square-foot expansion was recently completed.
The new owner Comitans Capital AG intends to run the small-bore pistons unit as an autonomous, independent company under the brand name of Kolbenschmidt Pistons.
“With support from Comitans Capital AG, we’re going to permanently position Kolbenschmidt Pistons as an independent, profitable enterprise”, says Klaus Semke, future CEO of Kolbenschmidt Pistons. “Besides pistons for passenger cars, pistons for heavy-duty trucks and the off-highway segment are going to play an important role.”
Headquartered in Munich, Comitans Capital AG is an internationally active holding company concentrating on companies in the automotive supplier sector, preparing them for sustained long-term growth.
