Husky Injection to sell

Husky Injection to sell
Husky Injection Molding Systems has announced it is putting itself up for sale. They have opened an auction for a Canadian global leader that ranks consistently among the country's best places to work and the most environmentally conscious corporations.

Husky has a factory in Milton, Vermont, which employs 350 people on a 700-acre campus. This facility is one of four plants in the world that makes equipment which is used in the plastic industry for Husky, stated Dirk Schlimm, Husky's vice president of corporate affairs. The other facilities are located in Luxembourg, China and Ontario.

Husky is the world's largest brand-name supplier of factory machinery to make plastic products ranging anywhere from soda bottles to car bumpers.
Husky has considered selling part or all of the company's shares or coming up with a combination with another business. Founder and major shareholder Robert Schad, who owns 44 percent of the company, is considering selling his shares. The second-largest shareholder is AIM Funds, with 13 percent.

Citigroup Global Markets has been hired by Husky as their financial adviser, but there is no certainty that the company will actually be sold.

Schad believes that the current market valuation does not reflect their strong competitive position, which Husky has worked to improve over the past decade.
Schad stated that over the past decade, Husky has worked to develop their leading technology platform, expand their markets and distribution network, improve their operations and build a strong management team.

The company had a net loss of $7.7 million in its first quarter, which ended October 31. A year earlier the loss was recorded at $9.3 million, as sales increased to $191.5 million from $175.9 million.

The Husky campus was founded in 1953 as a small machine shop by Schad after he immigrated from Germany. The production campuses are surrounded by pesticide-free landscaping and include perks such as exercise rooms and healthy-choices cafeterias.

His first product, a snowmobile called the Huskymobile failed, before he found the company niche in specialized mold making. High-speed injection molding machines were added in the 1960's.

In the 1970's, Husky began making systems to produce forms for polyethylene terphthalate. Husky now claims 70 percent of the global market for soda-bottle machinery. It has also spread into automotive, packaging and telecommunications applications.