Apogee Enterprises Inc reported it had acquired Brazilian firm Glassec Vidros de Seguranca Ltda. In its press release, Apogee Enterprises said it had acquired 100 per cent of the stock of the Brazilian firm. Glassec Vidros de Seguranca Ltda is the leading architectural glass fabricator in Brazil and its takeover will cost Apogee approximately $22 million. The deal includes the assumption of approximately $2 million in debt of the Brazilian firm.

The business will be called Glassec Viracon and operate as part of Apogee's architectural glass business; its results will be reported in Apogee's architectural segment. Russell Huffer, Apogee chairman and chief executive officer said the purchase of Glassec, with annual revenues of approximately $30 million, is part of Apogee's strategy to increase its architectural glass penetration in international markets.

Glassec Viracon will give Apogee entree to a large developing market for energy-efficient architectural glass products that is difficult to serve from the United States, said Huffer. Apogee expects that the Glassec Viracon business will have operating margins consistent with the firm’s architectural segment operating margins over the cycle, and believe it could be accretive to Apogee's earnings as early as fiscal 2012, added Huffer.

Huffer further reiterated his excitement that the management team will remain to lead Glassec Viracon to even greater levels of performance. Glassec Vidros de Seguranca, which has a strategy similar to that of Viracon, focuses on serving complex commercial building projects with high-quality, energy-efficient architectural glass. It has provided glass for a number of high-profile projects in Brazil.

On his part however, Dario Abrahao Farhat, general manager of Glassec Vidros de Seguranca commented that the firm was pleased to be joining a financially-strong, global leader in glass fabrication. According to him, Glassec Vidros de Seguranca is looking forward to capitalizing on the synergies of the two companies and drawing on Viracon’s expertise to better serve its customers and expand its market share in Brazil and Latin America.

In addition, joining the Viracon family will provide more opportunities for Vidros de Seguranca employees and its customers, said Farhat. Apogee funded the acquisition from available cash. Apogee Enterprises, Inc., headquartered in Minneapolis, is a leader in technologies involving the design and development of value-added glass products and services.

Glassec produces a broad range of glass types for non-residential buildings -- laminated, insulating units, tempered, heat strengthened and silk-screened. It operates in a 100,000 square foot facility with 250 employees.

21 Nov 2010.