StarragHeckert snaps up Dörries Scharmann Technologie GmbH, following A-TEC bankruptcy

Dörries Scharmann Technologie GmbH, with headquarters in Mönchengladbach, Germany, is said to be profitable and has been purchased for €70 million. It produces the machine tool brands Dörries, Droop+Rein, Ecospeed, Scharmann and Berthiez for drilling, turning, milling and grinding of middle sized to very large working pieces in factories in Germany and France, and is described as a leader in this industry sector. In 2010, the group generated a turnover of €130 million with 790 employees. Both StarragHeckert and Dörries Scharmann serve the same target markets, with "fully complementary product ranges". Both of companies focus on the high quality segment and on customers worldwide that are large financially solid global companies in the aerospace, energy generation, transport and precision mechanical engineering sectors, adds the release. StarragHeckert and Dörries Scharmann both also have UK bases. The former located in Haddenham, Buckinghamshire; the latter in Nachells, Birmingham. Dörries Scharmann Technologie GmbH was 100% owned by A-TEC's Mechanical Engineering Holdings division through A-TEC Mechanical Engineering Investment GmbH, according to the most current publicly available organisational chart. The StarragHeckert release makes no mention of the Mecof range of machines, which were made in Dörries Scharmann Technologie's facilities but which were part of A-TEC's Mechanical Engineering Holdings' 99%-held EMCO Maier GmbH. The Mecof brand was integrated into the business activities of Dörries Scharmann Technologie as of 1 Jan 2008. Machinery was unable to confirm further details about the inclusion or exclusion of Mecof prior to publication. According to the organisational chart, EMCO Maier GmbH is the parent of Emco Maier (Austria) and has subsidiaries of Emco Famup (Italy), Emco Mecof (Italy), Emco Italia (Italy), Intos Spol (Czech Republic), and Magdeburg (Germany). The A-TEC crisis was precipitated by the collapse of its Australian unit of Austrian Energy & Environment. The Vienna-based firm had around 12,000 employees in 16 countries and its insolvency is the third-biggest in the history of Austria, with reported liabilities of around €677 million.