IMI Acquires Prater-Sterling
This strategic acquisition enables the new company to expand further into industrial applications ranging from particle separation to material handling.
Posted: May 28, 2014
Established in 1961, Industrial Magnetics, Inc. (Boyne City, MI) is an industry leader in innovative magnetic solutions designed and engineered to meet the specific needs of its customers in applications ranging from particle separation to material handling.
Prater-Sterling (Bolingbrook, IL) specializes in developing and manufacturing state-of-the-art equipment in size reduction, separation, metering, compacting, batch weighing as well as control systems for a vast range of applications including food processing, chemical & agriculture, minerals and pharmaceuticals.
Bud Shear, the chief executive officer of Industrial Magnetics, states, “IMI and Prater-Sterling share many of the same key customers and channel partners and both companies have successfully carved out a niche in providing engineered solutions. The efficiencies to be gained from a design and manufacturing perspective will be beneficial to the entire customer population. This is a strategic acquisition that makes sound business sense for these and other reasons.”
With over 140 years of combined market presence, Shear says the new company is dedicated to ensuring that, ultimately, the users of both companies’ auxiliary processing equipment reap the benefits of this acquisition.
“IMI and Prater-Sterling have a broad book of knowledge in the markets we serve, and sharing that knowledge to make sensible improvements and provide best-in-class product will continue to be the goal. Our products can be found in close proximity to one another in a process stream. They are designed to ensure more efficiency in operations and a superior, cleaner end-product. We believe this synergy gives the user the opportunity to move towards a ‘one stop shop’ mentality since we will have more to offer through the entire product lifecycle.”