KILIAN GmbH & Co. KG now part of IPPT

International Process and Packaging Technologies GmbH (IPPT), a portfolio company of Deutsche Beteiligungs AG (DBAG), has purchased Kilian GmbH & Co. KG, a leading supplier of tablet press machines based in Cologne.

The contract has been signed by IPPT and Kilian owner, IMA Group. The final completion of the contract is conditional on the approval of the antitrust authorities.  

Established in Berlin in 1875 as a family owned business, Kilian moved to Cologne after World War II, at which time patents relating to tablet press design and manufacture were already in its possession. It was acquired by the IMA Group in 2000 and currently employs some 150 staff at its Cologne headquarters.

Kilian’s equipment are used in the pharmaceutical, food and chemical industries, both in serial production and on a laboratory scale. Besides tablets for pharmaceutical use, stock cubes, dishwasher tabs and pressed dextrose and sweetener products are amongst applications. In 2012, it reported sales of about 45 million euros. The company sees high demand from OEMs in the pharmaceutical markets across Asia, Eastern Europe and South America where generics production is experiencing an upswing.

“Kilian is a seasoned company and a leader in the field of tablet press technologies. It has an excellent reputation in key pharmaceutical and food production markets around the globe,” said Paulo Alexandre, CEO of IPPT. “Pharmaceuticals and food in general are characterised by stable growth, which is significantly stronger in the emerging countries. Our acquisition of Kilian will enable us to extend the Romaco Group’s portfolio of machinery and services with an important new segment in solid dose applications, giving a crucial boost to our growth strategy.”

“Kilian and the Romaco Group complement one another perfectly in terms of their technology profiles and markets. In purchasing Kilian, IPPT has taken another big step towards realising the Group’s strategy. In the long term, the aim is to further develop Romaco’s core competencies with DBAG’s support,” added Wolf-Dieter Baumann, IPPT chairman of the board.