The US-based Timken Company is buying the Italian linear motion products specialist Rollon Group, for an undisclosed sum.

Rollon, which manufactures and customises linear guides, telescopic rails and linear actuators, has manufacturing operations in Italy, Germany and the US. It employs about 600 people and its 2018 sales are expected to amount to around $140m. Rollon’s EBITDA margins of around 30% are well above the Timken average. Almost three quarters of Rollon’s business currently comes from the EMEA region.

Timken is buying Rollon from Chequers Capital and IGI Private Equity. It says that the Rollon products will complement its other brands, such as Philadelphia Gear, Groeneveld, Drives and Lovejoy. The acquisition also continues Timken’s strategy to diversify its portfolio with products and services that now include bearings, gear drives, chain, belts, couplings, automated lubrication systems, industrial clutches and brakes, and related services.

Timken’s president and CEO, Richard Kyle, says that Rollon “will further expand the Timken portfolio of leading industrial brands, allowing us to serve existing and new customers in attractive, high-growth end markets around the world. Like Timken, Rollon is an expert in motion technology and is recognised for developing customised linear motion products for their customers’ application challenges. With its proven operating model and value proposition, Rollon will open up exciting new growth opportunities for the company.”

Timken expects the acquisition to be accretive to earnings in the first year of ownership, and to generate synergies worth more than $10m. The transaction, which is subject to regulatory approvals, is expected to close in late September 2018 and will be funded with debt.
Rollon's products include linear guides, telescopic rails and linear actuators
Rollon, founded in 1975, produces linear components and systems for medium-precision applications, customised to suit the needs of more than 5,000 industrial clients. The company started expanding outside of Italy in 1991 and has since built a presence in Europe and the US.