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USA - Hanover manufacturer bought by Belgian company

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A Belgian firm is buying a Hanover manufacturing company with about 900 employees and vehicle technology seen as having strong potential.

WABCO Holdings Inc. has agreed to pay $145 million to buy R.H. Sheppard Co. Inc., which manufactures commercial vehicle steering systems, engine pumps and related products

WABCO, a supplier of technologies and services for commercial vehicles, announced the agreement Thursday in a news release.

A Sheppard spokeswoman, Cheryl Cucco, said specifics regarding the sale will be better-known once the transaction, which is subject to U.S. regulatory clearance, closes in the near future. That is expected to occur by the end of the third quarter of 2017.

Employees at the company, which is in Hanover Borough, have been notified of the pending sale, she said Friday.

It was not immediately clear whether the Sheppard facility was going to undergo a name change, or if other changes were planned.

early Friday morning were not immediately successful. The privately held Sheppard had sales of $130 million in 2016, the WABCO release said.

Founded in 1937, Sheppard appealed to to WABCO because it offers power-steering gears that "set the industry standard for heavy-duty commercial and specialty vehicles," the news release said. Sheppard also has its own manufacturing and advanced foundry capabilities, which WABCO expects to use for some of its own products, it continued.

Sheppard has been working to develop products specially adapted for regions outside North America, the announcement said. It already manufactures and sells products through a joint venture in China, and will use WABCO’s global network to reach into other regions, the release added.

Founded nearly 150 years ago, WABCO reported sales of $2.8 billion in 2016. Headquartered in Brussels, it has 13,000 employees in 40 countries.

Efforts to reach officials at the Hanover Area Chamber of Commerce regarding the pending sale’s impact on southwestern York County also were not immediately successful.

Source: cpbj.com

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