Scanfil to acquire Alcatel Bell's Hoboken plant in Belgium
31 January 2003 -- Paris-based equipment supplier Alcatel's Belgian subsidiary Alcatel Bell NV has sold the business operations, production equipment and real estate of its component manufacturing facility in Hoboken, near Antwerp, Belgium - a mechanics and integration plant for telecom technology and industrial electronics - to Scanfil Oyj , a global contract manufacturer and systems supplier for communication and industrial electronics which has 1600 staff.
The plant has annual sales exceeding EUR60m, with its largest customer being Alcatel Group. The deal includes a supply agreement by which Scanfil will continue to manufacture for Alcatel. All 250 staff will be transferred to Scanfil on the final closing of the agreement, which is expected to be completed during Q2/2003.
"The Hoboken plant and its skilled personnel is a great addition to Scanfil's manufacturing and design services¿Scanfil has added one of the world's leading telecommunication equipment manufacturers to its customer base," says Scanfil's president and CEO Jorma J Takanen.
The transaction is in line with Alcatel's strategy to focus on its core competencies including R&D, product and solution design and new product integration (NPI), as well as marketing and sales. According to Alcatel Bell's CEO Rudi Thomaes: "Today's announcement is delivering on our target to work with strong industrial companies in the field of manufacturing".