South Africa’s Competition Commission has approved the proposed merger, with conditions, whereby Amsted Rail Company Inc. (Amsted) intends to acquire the Cast Products Division of Scaw South Africa (Pty) Ltd (Cast Products SA).
Amsted is an American company, ultimately a wholly-owned subsidiary of Amsted Industries Incorporated. Amsted Industries is a diversified global manufacturer of industrial components serving primarily the railroad, vehicular and construction and building markets.
Cast Products SA is a company incorporated by the Industrial Development Corporation of South Africa (IDC), to which the cast products division (Cast Products) of Scaw South Africa (Pty) Ltd (Scaw) will be transferred, prior to the implementation of the proposed transaction. Cast Products SA does not currently own any firms.
The Commission approves the proposed transaction on condition that the merged entity may not, as a result of the proposed merger, retrench any employees in South Africa for 18 months after the implementation date of the merger. In addition, any employees of the merging parties that may be retrenched following the 18 month period shall be the first to be offered employment if vacancies arise within the merged entity and this must occur before vacant positions are advertised externally. This preferential employment will continue for a period of 12 months after the expiry of the moratorium on job losses.
Cast Products South Africa’s head office will continue to operate from its existing offices and facilities in Germiston, Gauteng and there will be no changes to its other foundry facilities – Boksburg Foundry and Eclipse East Foundry.
Cast Products South Africa is a leading manufacturer of specialised, high quality cast products used in the mining, railway, power and general engineering industries and produces castings with a finished weight of 30 tons. Cast Products South Africa comprises of four foundries and is one of the largest foundry groups in the Southern Hemisphere.
This extensive foundry network enables Cast Products South Africa to streamline production of a wide variety of products, including large girth gear segments, large high chromium iron coal pulverising wear parts, mill liners, slag pots, locomotive frames, bogie castings, couplers and drawgear as well as cast monoblock railway wheels. Products included in the large girth gear segment include high carbon, high chromium and abrasion resisting coal girth gears. Girth gears are cast in either one piece, halves, quarters and occasionally in fifths. Each individual segment may weigh between seven and 25 tons.
Visit www.castproducts.co.za to find out more about the company.
