Previously owned by Cookson Group, Speedline Technologies was recently purchased by KPS/New York for a total of only $10m. KPS will invest substantial capital in the company to fund working capital requirements, and will improve the performance. The current Speedline management will continue to handle the company under its known name.
Based in Franklin, Massachusetts, Speedline delivers manufacturing equipment and services for the board-assembly and semiconductor-packaging industries under four product lines: MPM, Electrovert, Accel and Camalot. According to company information, Speedline has the largest installed base in the surface-mount (SMT) industry, and its clients include many blue-chip electronics companies. David Shapiro of KPS underlined, “This is a company with a premier global franchise operating in a challenging industry environment, and we are confident that with a solid financial foundation and our operational and management expertise that Speedline is positioned for rapid growth in a recovering economy”. Speedline president Pierre de Villemejane commented, “KPS’ commitment validates the quality of our assets, management, and employees. KPS has the financial resources to make a significant investment, giving us the opportunity to continue developing products and services. We will emerge from this process with a well capitalized balance sheet and the financial strength to withstand a prolonged market recession, but also well positioned for long-term growth in a competitive capital equipment market.”
The organization and infrastructure will be streamlined to create a flexible, responsive enterprise that can adapt to rapidly changing demands. As Villemejane said, “Our goal is to create a company that can provide leading technology while withstanding future market volatility”. Speedline will organize its business around SMT and semiconductor packaging with printers, dispensers and products for reflow, wave soldering and cleaning. This approach will require the relocation of some operations in the US, while others remain unchanged. The European and Asian headquarters will stay in Dreieich/Germany and Singapore, respectively. Speedline will continue to operate the Cookson-owned process development lab in Foxboro, Mass., and the relationship will be maintained. The company announced a 25% reduction in workforce, to reduce cost structure and increase productivity to improve financial performance. (gbw)
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