Accuride to Acquire German Supplier

Evansville-based Accuride Corp. has announced plans to acquire German steel wheel supplier mefro wheels GmbH. Financial details were not disclosed and Accuride says the deal is subject to antitrust approvals. 

Mefro Wheels supplies steel wheels to the passenger car, light vehicle and commercial vehicle industries in Europe and Asia. The company employs more than 3,000 and operates manufacturing facilities in Germany, France, Turkey, Russia, and China. 

"The strategic acquisition of Mefro Wheels will solidify Accuride’s position for future growth as a supplier of wheel end solutions to the global commercial vehicle industry, enabling us to better serve the needs of our global customers," said Rick Dauch, chief executive officer of Accuride. "The addition of Mefro Wheels will extend Accuride’s geographic reach, expand our truck and trailer wheel offering in Europe, Russia and Asia and further diversify the end-markets we serve with passenger car and off-road construction and agriculture businesses."

Accuride says the combination of the two companies will create a work force of about 5,000 employees at 15 manufacturing facilities throughout the world.

This is the second acquisition for Accuride since it was acquired by New York-based private equity firm Crestview Partners. The company completed its acquisition of Washington-based KIC LLC in May.