GEA Group AG continues its expansion strategy towards becoming a total solutions provider in livestock farming through the acquisition of DB Wilaard Holding BV.
With its main brands “Royal De Boer” and “Brouwers”, the firm is a leading manufacturer of barn equipment in Europe. The company is headquartered in Leeuwarden, Netherlands, and in 2008 generated revenues of approximately EUR 40 million with a workforce of 160 employees. The acquisition includes Wilarus LLC, founded in 2004 as the sales and production facility for Russia and other CIS states. The acquisition is subject to the approval of the Russian antitrust authorities.
Since 1869, Royal De Boer Barn Equipment, the oldest subsidiary within the Wilaard Group, has expanded the horizons of animal housing, successfully setting benchmarks and modern standards. Together with Brouwers Equipment, founded in 1919, it has been playing a leading role in Dutch livestock farming for decades. GEA Farm Technologies will continue the well-known, high-quality, premium brands Royal De Boer and Brouwers, as they are dedicated to growing the barn equipment and manure-handling product lines globally out of the Wilaard Group headquarters and manufacturing facility Wilarus in Kolomna, Russia.
The GEA Group, headquartered in Bochum, Germany, is a globally successful technology group owning more than 250 companies in 50 countries, with an emphasis in the field of process engineering and equipment. GEA Group technologies are applied in the food, chemical and petrochemical industries, the energy sector, air treatment and shipbuilding, as well as the pharmaceutical and cosmetic industries. The GEA Group is one of the world’s market and technology leaders in 90 percent of its businesses.
GEA Farm Technologies, a division of the GEA Group, is a worldwide leader in milking, manure and housing equipment technology. GEA Farm Technologies is dedicated to saving producers time, labor and money through increased efficiency, management assistance information and leading-edge technology. GEA Farm Technologies provides a complete line of WestfaliaSurge, Houle and Norbco products to meet producers’ needs of all sizes and management styles.