18 Jan 2013: Markes International (Llantrisant, UK) has announced that Schauenburg International Group (Mülheim an der Ruhr, Germany) has acquired the majority of its shares. This step was taken to enhance the next stage of the company’s growth and help assure the long-term future of Markes as an independent company. At the same time it strengthens Schauenburg’s position in the air monitoring field and strategically positions the group to take advantage of a high growth sector of the analytical instrument business.
Markes is expected to benefit substantially by being able to draw on Schauenburg’s 50 years’ experience of sustainable technology investment. Markes’ focus, facilities and all employees will remain in place, and the company’s founders, Alun Cole and Elizabeth Woolfenden, stay on as leaders of the management team and co-shareholders.
Managing Director of Markes International, Alun Cole, says ‘We’re really proud of the way Markes has grown over the last 15 years, and are sure this is the right next step for the company. At Markes, we’ve always believed in a personal, customer-focused approach, and joining the Schauenburg group means that we retain our operational independence while providing us with the management infrastructure and know-how that will allow us to meet future challenges head-on. In summary, we are really excited about the increased potential and opportunity this partnership offers to our company and our customers.’
Florian G. Schauenburg, CEO of the Schauenburg International Group, says ‘Markes will form a substantial part, and a new analytical technology segment within our Electronic Division with great potential and synergies. Not only that, but it will support and complement our efforts as system supplier to the environmental monitoring market’.
Markes International is a specialist manufacturer of analytical thermal desorption instrumentation and associated sampling equipment. The company’s comprehensive portfolio of products is designed to automate and enhance the measurement of trace-level volatile and semi-volatile organic chemicals (VOCs and SVOCs) in real-world samples. The company is widely regarded as the world leader in thermal desorption technology and supplies the following markets: environmental monitoring, flavour/fragrance profiling, material emissions testing, and military, forensic and counter-terrorism applications.
Markes also designs and manufactures innovative time-of-flight (TOF) mass spectrometers under its ALMSCO brand. TOF technology enhances the analysis of trace organic chemicals by gas chromatography.
The Schauenburg International Group is a family-owned technology business with more than 30 sites worldwide. The focal points of the business are in electronic technologies, machinery and equipment, plastics processing, and engineering products. Recent years have seen the substantial growth of Schauenburg’s Electronic Technology Division, with products for improved safety in mining and tunneling, environmental monitoring, and satellite technologies.
For further information on this acquisition, please contact:
Dr Gavin Davies
Marketing Manager
Markes International
+44 (0)1443 230935
[email protected]
www.markes.com