Italian Machine Tool Maker Acquires 100% Stake in Canadian Company

A manufacturer of horizontal machining centres and special-application machine tools, Gruppo Riello Sistemi of Verona, has acquired 100% of the Canadian company Tri-Way Manufacturing Technologies Corp. The purchase represents another milestone in Riello’s process of internationalization, following previous acquisitions of Mandelli Sistemi (Piacenza, Italy) and Burkhardt+Weber (Stuttgart, Germany) and the establishment of Gruppo Riello Sistemi China in Shanghai.

Tri-Way is headquartered in Windsor, Canada, across the river from Detroit, the American automotive capital. The medium-sized machine tool company has a long history of supplying equipment for manufacturing automotive components, counting among its customers the three major American automotive companies, General Motors, Ford, and DaimlerChrysler, along with the most prestigious subcontractors in the sector.

With its 90 employees and a 2005 turnover of €15 million, Tri-Way will be a reference point for Gruppo Riello Sistemi in the North American Market, which already accounts for 10% of its total sales. Renato Pegoraro, previously sales director of Riello Macchine in Verona, has been named to run the company in North America. He is an expert on the American market.

Said Andrea Riello, company president and CEO, “This acquisition is part of the industrial plan that was started back in 1992 with the aim of reaching certain volume levels and at the same time successfully competing on the global market.” Riello noted that the plan follows three guiding principles: internal growth, product innovation, and efficient organization.”

“After having extended the product range and reached the right dimensions to face the global market,” continued Riello, “with the acquisition of Tri-Way we are now ready to fulfil the needs of such a demanding and technologically advanced market as that of North America. Our efficient sales network is now present with appropriate structures in the major product-consumption areas: Mediterranean Europe, German-speaking Europe, China, and North America.”