Wieland makes 2 acquisitions

The Wieland Group, an Ulm, Germany-based red metals producer, has acquired two companies: Lake Zurich, Illinois-based precision machined finished parts manufacturer Morgan Bronze Products and Italy-based heat exchanger manufacturer Onda.

Wieland says its acquisition of Morgan Bronze Products affirms its commitment to strengthening its North American footprint. The 77-year-old company produces bushings, bearings, washers and customized industrial ready-to-mount parts and components.

“By integrating Morgan Bronze, we gain an experienced and skilled team and broaden Wieland’s manufacturing, assembly and service capabilities for engineered products in North America,” Wieland Group CEO Erwin Mayr says. “The acquisition allows us to strengthen our footprint in growth markets like aerospace and defense and to enlarge our product solutions in industrial, transportation and heavy equipment applications.”

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Wieland’s acquisition of Onda will increase its participation in the heat exchanger and data center cooling markets. Onda will be added to Wieland’s Thermal Solutions business unit, which develops and manufactures heating and cooling technologies, including heat exchangers and solutions for the cooling of electronics.

Onda supplies heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration (HVAC&R) equipment and operates manufacturing plants in Mussolente, Italy; Lonigo, Italy; Kangasala, Finland; and Delaware, Ohio.

“Onda is a preferred partner for major chiller manufacturers and fits perfectly [with] Wieland as the acquisition adds capabilities and capacities to Wieland’s existing shell and tube heat exchanger operations,” Mayr says. “It also expands our product portfolio to include brazed plate and plate frame heat exchangers, as well as air heat exchangers, including dry coolers and air condensers.”

Wieland expects growth potential for shell and tube heat exchangers and electronics cooling equipment driven by digitization and sustainability trends. The company notes the increasing demand for chillers to cool data centers as well as increasing power densities in electronics.

According to Wieland, data centers account for an estimated 2 percent of global emissions and are expected to reach 8 percent of the world’s power consumption by 2030. The company says its acquisition of Onda will allow it to provide solutions for customers to reach their sustainability targets.

“Data centers using Wieland cooling technology require considerably less space and materials than comparable solutions and show significantly lower CO2 emissions due to the reduction of up to 70 percent of refrigerants in a chiller,” says Ivan Di Stefano, president of Wieland’s Thermal Solutions business unit. “Customers are looking for innovative and trusted partners that can combine a wide range of technical expertise, state-of-the-art technology and advanced manufacturing capabilities to deliver reliable, efficient and sustainable heat exchanger solutions—and that’s exactly what Wieland offers.”

Looking ahead, Weiland says the combined companies will offer electric industrial heat pumps, rather than solutions powered by natural gas, oil or coal.