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Tsubaki buys Kabelschlepp to lead its cable-carrier division

18 March, 2010

The Japanese power transmission manufacturer Tsubakimoto is buying the German energy chain producer Kabelschlepp for an undisclosed sum. Following the acquisition, Kableschlepp will lead Tusbaki’s global cable carrier systems division.

The takeover follows a long relationship between the two companies which started in 1968 when Tsubaki entered a licencing agreement with Kabelschlepp. Since then, Tsubaki has added plastic energy chains to the steel cable-carrying systems it had been producing since 1959.

The Japanese company hopes that integrating Kabelschlepp will boost its global competitiveness in support and guidance systems. By combining product development activities and establishing global production bases, it expects to develop products faster and more efficiently.

Tsubaki is also hoping that the combined sales networks of the two businesses and their global talent pool will expand its share of the cable-carrier market. And by tapping Kabelschlepp’s European customer base, it expects to boost sales of its power transmission products, including industrial chains.

Kablschlepp, whose headquarters are in Wenden, Germany (above), was founded in 1954. It currently employs about 570 people and has five manufacturing sites and 13 sales offices in Europe, North America and Asia, including a UK operation in Ilkeston, Derbyshire.

As well as manufacturing steel and plastic cable-carriers (below), Kabelschlepp also supplies cables, guideway protection systems, and conveyor systems.


The company has been hit hard by the recession, with sales dropping from €73.5m in 2008 to around €46.4m in 2009. In 2007, it recorded a net profit of €2.7m. For 2009, it is expected to incur a net loss of €8.1m.

The Tsubaki group, established in 1917, has global sales worth more than $1.5bn and employs more than 5,300 people at 28 production sites and in 22 group companies around the world. Its portfolio includes roller conveyor and engineering chains, cam clutches, reducers and linear actuators. Its European headquarters are located in Dordrecht, the Netherlands, and it has a UK subsidiary in Nottingham.

Kabschlepp is expected to become a consolidated subsidiary of Tsubakimoto from the financial year ending March 2011.




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