By Gurdip Singh
CORRESPONDENT
Published: September 3, 2014 10:29 pm ET
Updated: September 3, 2014 10:34 pm ET
Image By: First Engineering
Brian Smith, CEO of First Engineering
SINGAPORE — Injection molder and toolmaker Sunningdale Tech Ltd. on Sept. 3 announced plans to buy First Engineering Ltd., a manufacturer of precision molds and engineering components, for the automotive, consumer/information technology and health care/medical device sectors.
Sunningdale Tech said the acquisition will create one of the world’s largest precision plastics engineering companies with combined sales of S$636 million (US$507.3 million) and manufacturing operations and sales offices spanning across nine countries.
It will also provide immediate access to the Indian market, said Sunningdale Tech.
“It is a major milestone for Sunningdale Tech because First Engineering is highly complementary to our vision to be one of the global leading high precision plastic companies,” said Sunningdale CEO Khoo Boo Hor, in a news release.
“This transaction will not only expand our group’s blue chip customer base and widen our product mix offering, but also further strengthen our existing footprint and give us immediate access to the Indian market. Last but not least, the combined talent from both businesses will create one of the largest precision plastic companies in Asia, and put us on a new higher level,” he said.
Singapore-based Sunningdale is paying First Engineering’s parent company, Anchorage Singapore Holdings Pte Ltd., US$80 million. The deal is scheduled to be complete by the end of 2014, and is dependent on approval from Sunningdale shareholders.
First Engineering generated a profit of US$17.1 million on sales of US$134 million for the 12 months ended July 31, according to Sunningdale.
First Engineering also is based in Singapore. The company also has plants in Shanghai, Guangzhou and Suzhou, China; Chennai, India, and Johor, Malaysia.
“The combination of the two businesses also helps return the focus to Singapore as the global center of specialty engineered manufacturing — with us as the clearly distinguished global leader. We are very optimistic about our future together,” said Brian Smith, CEO of First Engineering, in a news release.
Sunningdale has manufacturing plants in Singapore, Johor; Vaxjo, Sweden; Riga, Latvia; Guadalajara, Mexico, and Tianjin, Shanghai, Suzhou and Zhongshan, China. The company has total factory space of 3 million square feet and more than 600 injection presses. | 
