Dathan buys local competitor from Textron

Huddersfield-based precision gear tools manufacturer Dathan Tool & Gauge has bought its local rival, David Brown Gear Tools (DBGT), from Textron Power Transmission for an undisclosed sum.

Robert Moorhouse, commercial director for family-owned Dathan, says the acquisition will provide a design capability that Dathan did not have before. It also gives access to DBGT`s customer base and to several "valuable machines tools".

There are plans to expand Dathan`s factory to incorporate the merged business, Moorhouse adds. Dathan has taken on seven members of DBGT`s staff.

"Although David Brown has been manufacturing gear tools for more than a century, the industry has developed into a tightly focused, niche market," says a Textron spokesman. "Because of this, we feel the business would be better off in the hands of a specialist company like Dathan."

Textron will now focus on its core business of producing gears and transmission systems.