German engineering company buys Turblex

Siemens is a Germany-based, publicly traded (NYSE:SI) electronics and electrical engineering corporation with 450,000 employees worldwide and sales of $130 billion.

Turblex manufactures aeration blowers for wastewater treatment facilities and compressors for removing sulfur from flue gas for coal-fired power plants. It has 115 employees.

Turblex President and CEO Guy Mace wouldn’t disclose revenues, but Turblex recorded $45.2 million in revenues in 2005 when it ranked No. 2 among Springfield Business Journal’s 2006 Dynamic Dozen fastest-growing companies in southwest Missouri. Turblex had increased its revenues from $22.4 million in 2003.

Mace did say revenues have continued to increase since 2005, when the company had about 75 employees.

Mace, who previously owned a company called Semblex, established Turblex in 1989 in a partnership with Denmark-based compressor company HV-Turbo, which held 51 percent ownership in Turblex. Since then, HV-Turbo was acquired by Germany-based AG Kühnle, Kopp & Kausch.

Last November, Siemens purchased AG Kühnle, Kopp & Kausch, thus acquiring its subsidiary, HV-Turbo, and the 51 percent ownership stake in Turblex.

Mace, 65, held the remaining 49 percent ownership in Turblex, but he wanted to retire. When Siemens bought HV-Turbo last year, he saw his exit strategy.

“I’m getting ready to pack it in,” said Mace, who will remain as president and CEO through next September. “Siemens wanted 100 percent control (of Turblex), so it was a good deal for both of us.”

Mace said negotiations took several months.

Siemens spokeswoman Monika Wood said Turblex would eventually operate under Siemens’ Turbomachinery Equipment A/S, which is part of Siemens’ Oil, Gas & Industrial Applications Division. It will continue to operate under the Turblex name for the near-term.

Wood said Siemens plans to expand Turblex, though a strategy has not been established. Mace said Siemens plans to vacate the current 45,000-square-foot facility at 1635 W. Walnut St. and build a larger Springfield-area facility, though details have not been determined.

Siemens already had 12 locations and more than 350 employees in Missouri, including a small sales office for its Energy & Automation Division at 2925 E. Chestnut Expressway, Wood said. However, this is Siemens’ first large-scale involvement in Springfield.

“They’re as good as it gets,” Mace said. “They’re a wonderful corporation and they will be a great asset to the Springfield business climate.”[[In-content Ad]]