Last December, the two companies agreed on the acquisition of the equipment and thermoplastic composites technology of Cato Norway by Cato NL. The transaction includes a military helmet production line with a capacity of 90,000 helmets/year and a production line for composite consumer electronic housings with a capacity of up to 2 million components/year.
The equipment is currently being installed at Cato NL in Doesburg, the Netherlands.
“Having the opportunity to acquire the helmet and electronics business of Cato Norway is a great opportunity for us,” says Joost van Lindert, Managing Director of Cato CI BV.
“We have moved all assets to our facilities in Doesburg and are integrating these production lines within our existing production capabilities: a 250 tons, two 100 tons and a 60 tons thermoforming press, as well as injection moulding facilities for hybrid composite components. That totals 7 production presses as well as state of the art injection moulding capabilities on site. Together with in-house engineering capabilities and over 20 years of experience in thermoplastic composite materials and applications, this makes us one of the most experienced and best equipped companies focusing on thermoplastic composites component development and manufacturing globally.”
With the sale of its shares in Bond-Laminates (manufacturer of TEPEX® thermoplastic composite material) GmbH to Lanxess in September 2012, Cato Ringstad AS, parent company of Cato NL, also decided to divest its activities in thermoplastic composites component manufacturing.
