The Austrian drives and motors manufacturer ATB Austria Antriebstechnik has bought the German explosion-proof motor producer Möller Antriebstechnik for an undisclosed amount.

Möller, based in Nordenham near Bremen, makes explosion-proof motors under the Felten & Guilleaume name. Until now it has been part of the global Möller group and in the last financial year notched up sales worth around €20m. It is one of the world`s largest suppliers of explosion-proof motors and has about half of the German market, with customers including BASF, Bayer, Shell, Esso, BP and Exxon.

In future, the business will operate under the name, ATB Motorentechnik.

Mirko Kovats, chairman of the ATB management board, says that the acquisition will give his company "access to a market niche which is both profitable and capable of further expansion, and which is also unlikely to attract additional competitors in the future because of the high cost of commissioning".