Cummins buys German emissions control product line

COLUMBUS, Ind.—Cummins Inc. has acquired of the emission control assets of Hilite, Intl. in Marktheidenfeld, Germany.

Hilite was owned by German industrial private equity, infrastructure and debt-management investor 3I Germany.

The Hilite assets are now part of Cummins Emission Solution (CES), positioning the company to serve all major market applications with a Cummins doser.

The selective catalytic reduction dosing (SCR dosing) system developed by Hilite complements Cummins aftertreatment technology, which combines controls, sensors, catalysts, substrates and packaging.

“This acquisition puts Cummins in a strong position to meet the needs of current customers and grow into new markets, especially as an increasing number of regions around the world adopt tougher emission standards,” said Srikanth Padmanabhan, vice-president and General Manager of CES.

As part of the acquisition, 133 former Hilite employees have joined Cummins and the business will continue to operate from the plant at Marktheidenfeld.

“Under 3i’s ownership, Hilite has almost doubled the revenue of its emissions control business. This development, combined with the continued attractive growth prospects of the business, resulted in extensive strategic interest. Therefore, 3i felt it was an opportune time to sell the unit to a strategic investor who will be focused on leveraging the growth opportunity and taking it to the next level. The sale will result in an attractive return for 3i,” said Partner and Managing Director of 3i Germany Ulf von Haacke.

Hilite’s emissions control unit, which designs and assembles exhaust dosing systems for on- and off-road heavy duty vehicles, accounted for about 25 per cent of Hilite’s revenues.

Over the past decade, regulatory agencies in the U.S. and E.U. have tightened the level of permissible emissions of particulate matter (PM), oxides of nitrogen (NOx), carbon monoxide (CO), and un-burnt hydrocarbons (HC). Mature market standards are now being implemented in emerging markets like China, India, Brazil and Russia.

Cummins Inc., a global power corporation of complementary business units that design, manufacture, distribute and service engines and related technologies, including fuel systems, controls, air handling, filtration, emission solutions and electrical power generation systems. Headquartered in Columbus, Ind., the company employs 44,000 people and earned $1.85 billion on sales of $18.0 billion in 2011.