Photo by Adval Tech Holding AG A Foboha cube mould for a cosmetic packaging application.

Barnes Group CEO Patrick Dempsey said the Foboha rotating-cube mould business, which the company announced it was buying 12 July, strengthens its Molding Solutions unit — and is an especially good fit with the Otto M?nner specialty of stack moulds and hot runner systems.

“We’re extremely excited to have [Foboha] become part of our Molding Solutions group. This company is renown in the industry for having the highest technology,” Dempsey said during Barnes’ second quarter conference call on 29 July. He said cube moulding “is employed in some of the most demanding injection molding applications” including in-mould assembly.

Dempsey said M?nner has traditionally been strong in stack moulds, as well as hot runners. Foboha’s focus is turning-cube moulds. Both are based in Germany, but are global players, he said.

Foboha and M?nner can help strengthen each other in new regions, he said. Foboha has an operation in Suzhou, China. M?nner’s US facility is in Lawrenceville, Georgia, near Atlanta. “Foboha has always looked at the opportunity of expanding in North America, and having a greater presence here, and Atlanta will allow them to do so,” Dempsey said. And he said M?nner has wanted to expand more in China, and Foboha will help that effort.

“So it’s highly complementary on both fronts,” he said.

Dempsey said “progress has been moving extremely well” to expand M?nner’s Atlanta facility, “with a transfer of technology and know-how from the Germany operations to leverage their capabilities into the US”

The deal to buy Foboha from Adval Tech Holding AG for CHF 133m (€122m) is not expected to close until the third quarter. But in its second quarter financial report, Barnes gave out more details about the Haslach, Germany-based Foboha. Foboha generated 2015 sales of about $75m (€67m). Packaging accounts for 60% of sales, followed by 20% from medical, 15% from consumer products and 5% from automotive.

Barnes also detailed Foboha’s sales by geometry: 26% from Germany and 22% from the United States, followed by China and South America (10% each), Austria (6%), Switzerland (4%), other European nations (13%), and an “other” category (9%).

Foboha employs about 375 worldwide.

Dempsey said Barnes will give out more information about Foboha in its third quarter report, once the deal is final.

Barnes is traded on the New York Stock Exchange.