Dayton, Ohio-based Day International
Inc. has agreed to sell its Textile Products Group to affiliates of Switzerland-based Saurer AG for
an undisclosed price. Closing, subject to regulatory approval, is expected by mid-June.
Day International is a manufacturer and distributor of highly engineered consumable products
for digital, flexographic and offset printing processes. The company’s Textile Products Group — a
major supplier of consumable, precision-engineered rubber cots, aprons, compressive shrinkage belts
and other fabricated rubber products used in yarn spinning and glass-fiber-forming applications —
employs approximately 270 people at its production facilities in Greenville and Germany, and sales
offices in Italy, Turkey and Hong Kong. In 2005, it realized sales totaling approximately $45
million.
Day’s textile products are sold directly to spinning mills globally and to textile machinery
original equipment manufacturers. Cots and aprons are marketed under the brands Accotex® and
Daytex®. Its Superba® rolls are used to seal tunnels used in carpet yarn processing.
“Day views this transaction as an opportunity to focus on our core image transfer business
while aligning our Textile Products Group with a successful, market-leading global company that is
focused on providing its customers full-service textile solutions,” said Dennis Wolters, president
and CEO, Day.
According to Day spokesman Dwaine Brooks, the acquisition by Saurer is a good fit for the
Textile Products Group. “We were wanting a good situation for our associates in the group, one of
whom has been with us for 65 years,” he said. “We feel good about the whole deal.”
The acquisition is expected to further strengthen Saurer’s components business, enabling the
company to offer a complete solution to influence ring-spun yarn quality.
May 22, 2006
