Major investment sees Emtelle UK take over main competitor

Emtelle UK, which has factories in both Hawick and Jedburgh, this week announced its buy-out of German-based competitor Moore GmbH, which comes as part of a £27.5m investment by the global company.

The firm, which produces blown fibre and ducted network solutions for the telecommunications industry, says the combined business will cement its ability to meet the fast-growing, demand for blown fibre, driven largely by the continuing growth in internet usage worldwide.

The firm currently employs 279 people between Hawick’s Haughhead base and its factory on Jedburgh’s Oxnam Road, and the deal will see staff numbers increase to around 455 globally.

As well as the acquisition, the firm is making substantial improvements in its Hawick and Jedburgh plants, to drive innovation, training and capability development as part of a £27.5m investment across its European manufacturing plants in Scotland, Scandinavia and now Germany.

Emtelle chief executive, Mads Høgfeldt, said, “Our headquarters will remain in Hawick and this acquisition will enable us to expand our facilities and staff there still further and ensure we are well-placed for a future in which there will be increasing demand for our products.”

The takeover will increase the firm’s manufacturing facilities as well as helping to strengthen its presence in mainland Europe.

Mr Høgfeldt added: “There is a natural synergy between our skillsets and product lines. The addition of manufacturing capability in the centre of the largest country in western Europe is a complementary expansion of our core Scandinavian and UK manufacturing capabilities.

“This acquisition will ensure better and more local customer service to our rapidly developing customer base. As a combined group, we will be able to supply the increasing global demands for fibre by adding a full manufacturing facility to our current sales team in Germany, substantially increasing our presence in a market which offers the largest FTTP potential in Europe.”

Moore GmbH is a German manufacturer of microducts and HDPE ducts for the telecoms and renewable markets. Following the acquisition, Moore will be closed for a short period and immediately renamed Emtelle GmbH.

Emtelle anticipates that the new investment will allow it to quadruple the capacity in Germany by the end of 2018 as well as being able to offer an improved service thanks to merged expertise and skillsets.

Emtelle UK, formerly Mainetti Technology, was founded in Jedburgh in 1980 and has grown into a global presence and market leader in telecoms, power, rail, highway and industrial sectors.

The acquisition comes on top on top of a multi-million pound global investment programme in 2015-16, of which 75% was in Scotland.