Hepworth Refractories - Us Group Takes Over

The Alpine Group Inc of the US announced in mid-April that it had completed the acquisition from Hepworth Plc of all the outstanding shares of Hepworth Refractories Ltd for an all cash purchase price of £62.5m ($100m). Operating profits in Hepworth's refractory division fell to £7.4m last year, having jumpted by some some 75% in 1995 to £7.6m. Sales dipped last year from £163m to £157.1m as global demand for steel and glass came under pressure. The UK refractories company employs 1,750 people worldwide, of which 1,160 are in the UK where it has five plants. It has two plants in Belgium, two in France and one in Canada.