One Equity Partners (OEP), an investment subsidiary of American Bank One has acquired Mauser-Werke GmbH & Co KG (D-50321 Brühl; www.mauser-werke.de). Both parties have agreed to remain silent as to the purchase price. The industrial packaging and plant specialist with 1,150 employees achieved a turnover of about EUR 300m in 2002.

About half of the company´s annual turnover comes from plastic products, particularly blow moulded containers made from HDPE. They are mainly used by the chemical industry for transporting chemical goods. Mauser leads the market for 30 l to 220 l barrels. The company also supplies smaller blow moulded container systems with a volume of 500 ml to 10 l, injection moulded containers with different sizes between 50 ml and 30 l and technical components in smaller lots. Mauser-Werke has an estimated overall throughput of 45,000 to 50,000 t/y of plastic material, mainly HDPE. The group operates two major (Brühl and Bammental) as well as one minor facility in Germany and minor facilities in France and the Netherlands.

In addition to plastics containers, the company also produces IBCs and barrels from composites and metal. The machinery division supplies complete blow moulding lines for containers with a volume of between 60 litres and 1,250 litres.