GEA Refrigeration Technologies acquires Bock Kältemaschinen GmbH

On 16 December 2010, GEA Refrigeration Technologies, of Bochum, Germany, signed a agreement for acquisition of the company Bock Kältemaschinen GmbH, of Frickenhausen, Germany, a firm until then in family ownership. In addition to its administration and production location in Germany, and a total of more than 300 staff, Bock includes an international distribution network, as well as factories in Stríbro (Czech Republic), Vadodara (India), and Hangzhou (China). After FCO clearance by the respective government antitrust offices, GEA will take over the entire staff. Agreement was reached to treat the price of the acquisition as confidential. Dr. Hugo Blaum, President of the GEA Segment Refrigeration Technologies, said, “This acquisition diversifies the portfolio of piston and screw compressors in GEA Group, and assures at the same time the continued operation of Bock.”

This strategic acquisition extends GEA Refrigeration Technologies offering of compressors by adding systems in the lower and medium performance ranges (from 5 to almost 300 m³/h refrigerant flow). Cogent factors arguing for this acquisition included – in addition to the valuable spectrum of compressors for conventional and natural refrigerants – the following aspects: extensive awareness of the Bock brand and access to new markets. As Dr. Blaum explains, “With its refrigeration systems, Bock serves not only industrial customers, but also has key-account clients in commercial operations. It supplies systems for comfort HVAC as well as equipment for rolling stock in the railway sector, and for buses and refrigerated transport vehicles.” In addition to a harmonious amalgamation of their product portfolios, the clientele of Bock and GEA mutually complement each other: especially since GEA Refrigeration Technologies is particularly active in the industrial field. Synergism also results with respect to sales networks: the global representations of Bock and GEA can, beginning now, offer a more extensive spectrum of equipment and services.

GEA management forecasts a rosy future for Bock compressors: as a result of the sustained trend toward natural refrigerants, the upper performance range will be covered by GEA ammonia compressors, and the lower to mid-range of performance, by Bock CO2 compressors. In addition, increasingly smaller compressors are being required as a result of the application of CO2: systems with carbon dioxide can provide the same cooling duty as conventional machines, but with approximately one-sixth of the volume of refrigerant. “The future will belong to smaller, high-compression machines with natural refrigerants,” said Dr. Blaum. “The Bock expertise in the lower performance range and Bock experience in mass production are therefore highly welcome to us.”