So they are back in the same boat: At the end of August 2003, US private equity group Madison Capital Partners (Chicago, IL 60606 / USA) acquired hot runner manufacturer Synventive Molding Solutions (European HQ: NL-3925 KV´s-Gravendeel; www.synventive.com) for an undisclosed sum. Synventive, which resulted from the merger of Eurotool and Kona in 2001, was originally – under the name Dynisco Hot Runners – part of the peripheral units group, Dynisco (Europe: D-74078 Heilbronn; www.dynisco.com), which, in turn, had been bought – with the exception of the Synventive segment – by Madison in 2000.

Synventive has production centres in the USA, The Netherlands and Germany. With representatives in over 30 countries, 600 employees, 39 patents and 79 patent applications pending, the company is one of the world´s leading hot runner manufacturers. Its main application markets are the automotive engineering, telecommunications and packaging industries, but also the medical sector. The most recent in- house development is the patented “Dynamic Feed”, which is able to individually regulate the rate of filling and packing pressures of each cavity of a multi-cavity mold.

Some readers may remember that, at the turn of the year 1999/2000, the intended purchase of Battenfeld Injection Moulding Technology (D-58540 Meinerzhagen; www.battenfeld.de) by Madison collapsed at the last minute. A considerable amount of water has passed under the bridge since then. With the latest takeover, Madison has extended its portfolio in the plastics machinery segment to 18 companies, including Dynisco, Epso, Beringer, Brown Machine, Holm Industries and the Italian firm Industrie Ilpea. Explaining the company´s strategy, Madison´s CEO, Larry Gies, said the company wanted to “acquire acknowledged companies with a strong management team,” to help it achieve growth.

• Plasteurope.com Service: Brochures from Synventive (German) on “Dynamic Feed”, hot runner technology in general and its application in the automotive industry: PIE-No. 46229.