Pipe producer Wavin BV boosted its annual sales about 20 percent by acquiring British plumbing and drainage pipe manufacturer Hepworth Building Products Ltd.
The March deal gives Zwolle-based Wavin the top position in the United Kingdom plastic pipe market. The company bought Sheffield, England-based Hepworth from private heating technology company Vaillant GmbH of Remscheid, Germany. Terms were not disclosed.
Wavin makes pipe for potable water, hot-water floor heating, drainage and irrigation.
Hepworth posted 2004 sales of 236 million euros ($311 million). It employs more than 1,400 and has manufacturing and distribution facilities in the United Kingdom, China and the Netherlands.
Wavin reported 2004 profit of 47 million euros ($62 million) on sales of 1 billion euros ($1.3 billion).
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