WBB acquire Czech kaolin producer
THE Watts Blake Bearne Group have announced the acquisition of Villeroy and Boch's 94% interest in Czech-based kaolin producers Kaolin Hlubany for an undisclosed sum.
The outstanding 6% of shares remain in private ownership. The business will be managed by WBB Group's German operating company, WBB Fuchs, based in Ransbach, with WBB Fuch's managing director, Gerhard Hillebrand, becoming a member of the Kaolin Hlubany management board.
All 86 of Kaolin Hlubany's employees are to remain with the company. Located in one of Europe's foremost kaolin-producing regions, approximately 100km west of Prague, Kaolin Hlubany's annual sales are currently around 80,000 tonnes (both raw and refined kaolins), principally to the ceramics industries.
During recent years the company have made considerable investments in kaolin processing technology, which have enhanced both capacity and product quality. WBB Group are the world's leading producers of plastic clays for the ceramics industry, with sales from worldwide operations exceeding 6 million tonnes a year.
