02/10/02
The Tech Group Inc. acquires emerging UK development, moulding and packaging company

The Tech Group Inc. of Arizona, USA, announces the acquisition of a majority stake in Detail Plastics Ltd of Lancashire, England.

Detail Plastics was founded in late 1997 by Joe Govier, following a career at DS Smith, Porvair and CTP Plasro, to offer development services as this market need was poorly serviced by the established players. Joe is a winner of numerous business awards including the Shell LiveWIRE Young Entrepreneurs Award in 1999. Today the company offers three separate functions including specialist design and development, injection moulding, assembly and high volume cleanroom thermoforming expertise principally to the medical / healthcare sector in the UK. The company employs 20 people at its new purpose built 22,000 sq ft facility in Padiham.

The Tech Group Inc. was founded by Steve Uhlmann in 1967 and is a leading contract manufacturer and injection moulded component supplier to the medical/healthcare and precision electronic sectors. The Tech Group Inc. has global annual revenues of $120 million, 2000 employees and 750,000 sq ft of manufacturing space at eleven facilities in the Americas, Europe and Asia.

Commenting on the transaction, Joe Govier, Managing Director of Detail Plastics Ltd, said "The investment by The Tech Group Inc. is a strong endorsement of the innovative strategy we have developed since the inception of Detail Plastics four years ago. It allows us to more aggressively pursue the unprecedented number of business opportunities currently facing us. I am very happy that the entrepreneurial culture evident in The Tech Group Inc. mirrors my own philosophies. We will immediately be triggering an expansion of our clean room, the acquisition of further moulding machines and a new thermoforming press."

Commenting on the transaction, David Moffitt, Managing Director of Tech Group Europe said, "We believe the acquisition of Detail Plastics will nicely compliment our high volume, 40,000 sq ft precision moulding facility in Dublin, Ireland. We are delighted that Joe Govier, Managing Director, and John Chacksfield, General Manager, will continue both as shareholders and key executives."

The Tech Group in Europe will now be able to offer its clients in Europe a broad range of capabilities including development engineering, prototype and production tool sourcing, low volume and high volume class 10,000 and 100,000 moulding environments, manual and automated assembly expertise, and finally thermoforming packaging solutions.

The transaction is expected to complete by Friday 14th February 2002 and for further details please contact:

Detail Plastics Ltd
Joe Govier
Managing Director
Joe@plastic-moulding.co.uk
Tel: 00 44 1282 681922
www.plastic-moulding.co.uk

Tech Group Europe
David Moffitt
Managing Director
david.moffitt@techgroup.com
Tel: 00 353 1 8859710
www.techgroup.com