Donaldson Company Acquires the DCE Dust Control Business of Invensys

Donaldson Company announced that it has completed the acquisition of the DCE dust control business of Invensys plc. DCE, headquartered in Leicester, England, is a major participant in the global industrial dust collection industry.

Manufacturing is centered in Leicester, England, with smaller factories in the United States and Germany, and assembly operations in South Africa, Australia and Japan. DCE products are sold around the world through a direct sales force, supported by a network of manufacturer's representatives and distributors. DCE annual net revenues are approximately $80 million. Approximately 70 percent of DCE's revenues are derived from sales in the United Kingdom and Europe and approximately 16 percent from North American customers. DCE has more than 640 employees worldwide with approximately 50 percent located in the UK.

Donaldson Company currently has a significant presence in the industrial dust collection market through its Torit business unit. In the most recent fiscal year, Torit recorded net sales of $154 million in the global dust collection market.

DCE complements the dust collection capability of Torit. While Torit's principal strength is the North American market, DCE is strong in the UK and Europe. Both Torit and DCE have built their success on standard modular products that can be configured to satisfy a wide array of customer needs. Torit products are normally configured with replaceable cylindrical filter cartridges, whereas DCE products are primarily configured with filter bags. Torit and DCE have established strong market positions through the use of professional, dedicated sales forces to configure the right product for each unique customer application.

Torit and DCE are part of the Industrial Filtration business segment of Donaldson Company. The Industrial segment accounted for $333 million of revenue in the fiscal year ended July 31, 1999, representing about 35 percent of the company's consolidated net revenue. Looking forward and taking into account the acquisition of DCE, the Industrial segment will have annual revenues in excess of $425 million and represent more than 40 percent of the consolidated revenue of the company.