TRF Limited, a Tata enterprise, having its major manufacturing base here on Friday acquired UK-based Hewitt Robins International Ltd (HRIL) which is into bulk material handling and processing.
HRIL?s equipment is operational throughout the world in industries ranging from mining and quarrying to foundries and ore preparation plant.
By way of an agreement signed today in London between TRF managing director Sudhir Deoras and HRIL director Christopher Pratt, HRIL would become a 100% subsidiary of TRF. Among those present on the occasion were TRF chairman and Tata Sons director Dr Jamshed J Irani and director, Tata Limited, London, Anwar Hasan.
HRIL with an over 90-year history and with offices in the UK, France, Czech Republic and the US, provides comprehensive design, production, installation, service and parts back-up and has a world-class reputation for strength and endurance within the heaviest industrial plant installations.
Hewitt Robins is basically engaged in design, manufacture of mobile crushing plants and screens, and related products in the quarrying, mining, recycling, iron and steel industries.
For TRF, whose board had at a meeting held on March 22 (2010) approved the HRIL acquisition, the acquisition came at a valuation of 3 million pounds (around Rs 20.57 crore).
TRF said the investment (in HRIL) represents a ?significant progression in the direction of rapid growth and globalization? by the company.
Envisaging a five-fold growth, TRF, which has three business units which cater to material handling requirements of customers in the core infrastructure sectors of the economy, is targeting to become a Rs 2,500-crore company by 2013 by enhancing focus on material handling as also auto applications businesses.
TRF closed Friday at Rs 995 (down 1.36% from Thursday) at the BSE and at Rs 998.10 (down 1.16%) on NSE, the acquisition news coming only as the markets were closing.