By 1 January 2003, the Wilo AG, based in Dortmund, Germany, having effected a turnover of 535 million Euro in 2001 and being one of the market leaders in developing pumps and pump systems for building services engineering, acquires the EMU Unterwasserpumpen group, located in Hof, Germany.
The acquisition will strengthen Wilo’s market position in sectors which boast of very quick economic growth.

EMU is a renowned contractor in pumps and machinery for municipal and industrial water supply as well as for sewage disposal and waste water treatment. The group, including EMU Unterwasserpumpen GmbH and EMU Anlagenbau GmbH as well as eleven further holding companies, generated a temporary turnover of 50 million Euro in 2002.

In order to stimulate EMU product sales, Wilo will make use of its distribution network spread all over the world. Wilo and EMU products complement each other perfectly. Michel Laroche, chairman of the Wilo board, is convinced that “the acquisition represents the basis to work our way up to a leading position in sewage pump and waste water technology markets worldwide.” Both companies benefit from outstanding synergies in research and development.

The existing EMU management including Gerhard Etschel (sales/marketing) and Klaus Hagen (technical director) has been extended and now also involves Otto Northe (finances/controlling/IT) and Frank Kaiser (chairman of the executive board).

The transaction still needs to be approved of by the Federal Cartel Office.