NOTE acquires mechanics supplier

NOTE has signed a letter of intent to acquire all shares in a mechanical engineering company in Järfälla, outside Stockholm. This acquisition is part of NOTE strengthening its customer offering to further reduce customers' time-to-market. The company has advanced technical equipment and specialised competence in machining. Products and associated services are supplied to the nuclear power and telecoms industries, among others. Sales currently amount to some SEK 25 m per year, and the business has some 20 employees.

''Over a number of years, the company has built up a valuable customer base and expertise in advanced high-precision machining. We therefore see the acquisition as an excellent opportunity to complement our already strong customer offering in electronics with additional expertise in the mechanical field. Demand for the manufacture of complete products is increasing sharply. We are now strengthening our position in the market by increasing our capacity to rapidly develop advanced mechanical prototypes close to our customers. The acquisition is thus fully in line with our long-term focus on Nearsourcing, which aims to achieve volume growth and increased profitability while reducing the risks in the business. The new business is expected to contribute to increased growth in the long term and at the same time have a positive impact on our operating profit already in the current year. We expect the deal to be finalised in the next few days,' says Arne Forslund, CEO and President of NOTE.

''To meet our customers' needs for cost-effective mechanical components, we have been working actively for several years to qualify and develop a large number of high-quality mechanical suppliers in low-cost countries. We are now taking a further step to strengthen our competences and complement our materials supply with a mechanical engineering business close to our customers. The company will change its name to NOTE Components Järfälla AB, and will be integrated with our materials supply company NOTE Components in Gdansk and China as soon as possible,' says Knut Pogost, CSO and CEO of NOTE Components.

"The market for mechanical and electronic products is developing rapidly, and my organisation has solid know-how in metal cutting. I look forward to developing our role as a significant supplier of advanced prototypes and mechanical components together with a strong supplier like NOTE," says Kjell Tengmo, former owner.

For further information, please contact:
Arne Forslund, President and CEO, tel. 08-568 990 07, 070-547 74 77
Knut Pogost, CSO and CEO NOTE Components, tel. 08-568 990 06, 070-552 34 44
Henrik Nygren, CFO, tel. 08-568 990 03, 070-977 06 86

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