Aeroglide joins the Bühler Group

Aeroglide Corporation has been acquired by the Bühler Group. 

Founded in Raleigh in 1940, Aeroglide is the leading global supplier of industrial driers and coolers used in the processing of, among other things, breakfast cereals, snack foods, pet food, nonwovens, polymers, and industrial rubber. Bühler, located in Uzwil Switzerland, is a multinational producer of industrial processing equipment and systems. 

Aeroglide had grown recently, in part through acquisitions, and had itself been acquired just 15 months ago by Compass Equity, a Connecticut-based private equity firm. According to Aeroglide’s president and CEO, J. Fredrick Kelly Jr., “While we were out looking for additional acquisition opportunities, someone came looking for us. We have supplied equipment to Bühler for years, and they saw an opportunity to add our thermal processing equipment into their product offerings. It is a natural fit for the two companies.” 

Aeroglide has 325 employees in four countries and has annual sales of $70 million. Bühler employs 6900 people in 140 countries and has annual revenues of US$1.7 billion. Aeroglide will remain based in Raleigh with local management and will become a “center of competence” in thermal processing for the Bühler network. “The connection to Bühler’s network expands our global outreach instantly,” said Kelly. “We will be able to leverage our existing global presence, particularly in the Asian countries where 25% of Bühler’s employees work.”