Doughty Hanson Buys High-Growth Swiss Co. –

Doughty Hanson & Co. in early January signed an agreement to purchase Tornos Bechler, a Swiss manufacturer of high-performance automatic lathes. A leader in its field worldwide, Tornos Bechler last year generated a turnover of CHFr 280 million ($204.1 million).

Since Dr. Anon Menth took over as president and chief executive officer in 1995, the company has achieved sales growth of approximately 68%.

No details of the funding structure were available at press time, but Doughty Hanson confirmed that, as is its usual practice, it will groom Tornos Bechler for a public offering in three to five years, working actively alongside management, who will participate in the buyout.

Based in Moutier, Switzerland, and employing 950 people, Tornos Bechler manufactures two major product lines: single-spindle lathes for the production of small precision parts; and multi-spindle lathes for high-volume production of small precision components.

Tornos Bechler’s automatic lathes are principally used by firms in the electronics and microtechnics, fastener, watchmaking and medical engineering industries.

The company recently has introduced a new range of machines that incorporate the proprietary DECO concept; employing Microsoft Windows-based software, these lathes offer greater precision, flexibility and efficiency.