The Röchling Group, Mannheim, has acquired the Oertl Kunststofftechnik group retroactively effective from April 1, 2008 (pending the approval of the German Federal Cartel Office). Oertl, a medium-sized company based in Brensbach in the Odenwald region, manufactures highly complex plastic parts in particular for the medical technology and pharmaceutical industries.
 
The Oertl group is being integrated into the Röchling Technical Parts (RTP) group. “There is no overlapping of products or customers in the portfolios of RTP and the Oertl group. With this acquisition, we are therefore extending the range of applications for our activities in the area of technical parts,” explains Röchling Group COO Burckhard Frank. According to him, the various companies within the RTP group all have the common goal of manufacturing high-tech injection-molded parts in consistently high quality for premium customers.

The Oertl group produces sophisticated injection-molded parts for several different industries, with a clear focus on products for the medical technology and pharmaceutical segments. The injection-molded products are particularly useful in infusion and dialysis technology.

With the purchase of the Oertl group, which has around 200 employees and achieves annual sales of approximately EUR 18 million, the RTP group has significantly increased its expertise in the field of medical technology. RTP is now represented on a more or less equal footing in several sectors: Röchling Technische Teile KG in Eppingen and Mainburg and Röchling SGT Spritzgießtechnik GmbH in Weidenberg are trusted partners for customers in the electrical engineering/electronics and automotive industries. The financial services and security technology sector is covered by CircleSmartCard GmbH, the recently-acquired Erfurt company specializing in injection-molded smart card bodies. The expansion to include medical technology and pharmaceuticals that has now been completed rounds off the RTP group’s range of competencies in a further high-tech field.

The Oertl Kunststofftechnik group consists of the companies OE-KU Oertl Kunststofftechnik GmbH (injection molding), OE-PRA Oertl & Pra Werkzeugbau GmbH (development, planning, construction and manufacture of complete injection molds) and OE-TECH Oertl Montagetechnik GmbH, which specializes in the assembly of complete components. OE-TECH has clean-room facilities for medical technology and the semi-automatic and fully automatic production of complete systems.

The acquisition will allow the Röchling Group to expand its business activities in the area of plastics processing as planned, according to President and CEO Georg Duffner. He believes that, also in the future, it will be in the Röchling Group’s interest to acquire in particular small and medium-sized companies with high quality standards and production areas that complement and/or extend its existing portfolio.

Mannheim, Germany, September 12, 2008

Company portrait:
The Röchling Group, a worldwide operating plastics group with over 6,000 employees at 54 locations in 18 countries, stands for proficiency in plastics. Its two divisions, High-Performance Plastics and Automotive Plastics, concentrate on processing quality plastics into semi-finished products, components and systems for a wide range of industrial uses. Röchling stands for innovative products and state-of-the-art process technology in plastics processing. The High-Performance Plastics division’s product range extends from semi-finished products such as sheets, rods, hollow and flat steel bars via sectional and cast parts to mechanically finished assembly units. The Automotive Plastics division makes plastic parts for the automotive industry. They consist of technologically sophisticated products made of polymer materials and natural fiber plastic composites for the engine compartment, the underbody and the interior.