Fiberweb acquires geosynthetics supplier Boddingtons Intl.

Geotextile manufacturer Fiberweb PLC has purchased Boddingtons International Ltd., a U.K.-based producer of geosynthetic nets as well as a range of accessories and laminates for use in civil engineering projects and ground protection.

A December news release said that the two companies will form a new business unit—Fiberweb Geosynthetics—that will be headed by Boddingtons chief executive John Warner. The release stated that an important growth initiative for the new division is investment in a specialized needlepunched geotextile production line in the U.K.

Fiberweb said it sees Boddingtons as complementary to its own Wales-based Terram business, a market leader for geotextiles in the U.K. There is a long-standing and growing supply relationship between the two businesses, accounting for around 10% of Boddingtons sales. There are also links with Fiberweb’s Old Hickory, Tenn.-based Typar construction fabrics business in the U.S.

Fiberweb chief executive Daniel Dayan said: “Boddingtons is in a specialist construction area, which we have highlighted as an important part of our growth strategy. Boddingtons takes us beyond nonwovens in this market, adding successful product ranges and deepening our relationship with, and understanding of, key distribution and end-use customers. This is an important step in developing a broader, customer-focused growth strategy under experienced and successful management.”

Boddingtons is a private U.K. company, majority owned by Robin Boddington, its founder who is now retired, and Warner. The company is based in Maldon, Essex, with manufacturing operations in Loddon, Norfolk, and Melbourne, Australia. It also has sales offices in the U.S. and Germany, with a total of 92 employees.

Boddingtons had sales in FY 2010 of £14m ($21.7m). The company has demonstrated steady growth recently, with a 21% increase in sales 2007–2010.

Fiberweb is paying £8.2m ($12.7m) for 100% of the share capital of Boddingtons and will assume net debt as at Dec. 31, 2010, estimated at £1.2m ($1.9m).