Wiltronic moves to Escatec Group

The Escatec Group has signed an agreement with Leica Geosystems for the purchase of 75% of its stake in Wiltronic, a Heerbrugg-based manufacturer of highly integrated microelectronic assemblies.

The Escatec Group has signed an agreement with Leica Geosystems for the purchase of 75% of its stake in Wiltronic, a Heerbrugg-based manufacturer of highly integrated microelectronic assemblies.

The deal is part of Escatec's strategy of international expansion and addition of core technology and of Leica Geosystems' ongoing strategy of concentrating on its core businesses.

Under the terms of the agreement, Leica Geosystems will receive cash proceeds of CHF 6.2 million in return for a 75% interest in Wiltronic by Escatec, a vertically integrated contract electronic manufacturer with facilities in Asia and America.

Wiltronic, until now a wholly owned independent subsidiary of Leica Geosystems, is based in Heerbrugg, in the Canton of St Gallen, and employs 170 people -145 at its headquarters in Heerbrugg and 25 at its subsidiary in Rankweil, Austria.

Wiltronic is a company with a long-standing tradition in development and manufacturing of high-quality printed circuit board assemblies (PCBA) and other electronic assemblies.

"Over the past several years, Wiltronic has been successfully growing its customer base beyond Leica, while remaining our primary supplier for electronic components", said Hans Hess, CEO of Leica Geosystems.

",With Escatec, we have found a partner that we believe can further develop Wiltronic's business and at the same time ensure that Leica Geosystems continues to receive the excellent level of service and quality components as in the past.

As a sign of our commitment to this business, we have maintained a 25% ownership interest in Wiltronic and will retain a seat on the Board", said Hess.

According to Christophe Albin, Executive Chairman of Escatec, "With the acquisition of Wiltronic, Escatec fulfils several key points of its strategy.

By adding a presence in Europe we become more of a global player with facilities on three continents, and add design and engineering services, technology and fast prototyping up stream of our vertical integration.

Escatec also gets a unique opportunity to capitalise on Wiltronic's excellent relationship with Leica Geosystems.

We are also acquiring a motivated and strong management team as well as highly qualified staff with a proven track record of proactively expanding the customer base outside of Leica Geosystems.

Having plants around the world, located in the middle of major markets like Europe and North America, and others in the lowest possible cost countries like Malaysia and Indonesia, coupled with our vertical integration, will enable us to offer excellent services for new product introduction as well as extremely competitive rates for mass production.

We are excited about this opportunity and welcome the employees of Wiltronic into the Escatec organisation", concluded Albin.

With this transaction, Leica Geosystems has completed two divestment projects in the last eighteen months.

In July 2001, Leica Geosystems sold 75% of its ownership in SwissOptics to Berliner Glas.

Leica Geosystems has publicly stated that it plans to divest all of the assets in its Special Products Division.

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