On July 5th 2002, the Management Team of Kent Stainless announced the acquisition by the company of Solids Technology International Ltd.

Extablished in 1982 by Pat Kent, Kent Stainless employs c. 130 people at its high-tech manufacturing plant in Ardcavan, Wexford and is a market leader in the design and manufacture of stainless steel products. In recent years the company has investaed heavily in both plant and people to build a powerful team with advanced design skills backed by precision engineering facilities.

Kent Stainless' roots are in contract manufacturing and in the mid 1990's the company achieved ISO 9000 certifictaion. Since then the company has worked to build a portfolio of innovative stainless steel "own brand" and bespoke products with a focus on the Healthcare/Pharmaceuical Sector. Key brand categories manufactured by Kent Stainless include drainage products, clean-room and surface protection products, as well as street furniture. Kent Stainless operates also as a back office machine builder for many well-known international equipment suppliers and also manufactures high-spec stainless steel bespoke architectural designs for the building sector. Operating in Ireland, Europe, Hong Kong and Singapore, Kent Stainless has recently completed several high-profile international contracts including erquipment for a Sola Optical Plant in China, an Airport Runway Drainage scheme in Hong Kong, a sculptural installation for RTE, in Dublin.

The move to developing its own brand range of products has been highly successful for the company and this has resulted in a doubling of turnover in the last 24 months.

The managament team within Kent Stainless is currently embarking on an aggresive 5-year expansion strategy, a key elememt of which is the further development "own branded products". Kent Stainless envisages two key ways of achieving this: in-house development by its R&D team, and acquisition of reputable brands. Solids Technology, an Irish company with both innovative products and extensive process expertise, was deemed to be highly suitable fit for Kent Stainless. The growth potential in the Environmental and Wastewater Treatment sectors is also of major interest to Kent's management team.

Solids Technology was established in 1978 and offers a range of high-performance turnkey stainless steel systems to both municipal and industrial wastewater treatment plants for the reduction of their liquid waste. The company has forged an international reputation for it's advanced technology, and in tandum has built a valuable bank of process knowledge. With over 600 installations in 14 countries worldwide, Solids Technology has consistently been first to market with design innovations that meet the evolving legislative requirements of the environmental sector.

At the announcement of the acquistion Mr. Torpey said, "The directors of Solids Technology see this as an enormously positive step, and view it as an exciting opportunity to continue the success and growth of the company." Turning to the benifits of combining their process knowledge with Kent Stainless engineering design expertise, Mr. Torpey went on to say, "The acquisition by Kent Stainless will fast-track our business by opening us up to a new level of expertise of in quality precision-engineering, and also to the economies of scale awarded by a large manufacturing organisation." The acquisition will substantially increase the resources available to Solids Technology and we foresee a doubling of turnover by 2005.  

Speaking of the companys ongoing commitment to the Irish market, Mr Torpey said, "Solids Technologies is a fully Irish-owned company and will continue to be 100% Irish after the aquisition by Kent Stainles. We have faced stiff competition in Ireland from overseas suppliers in recent years but with the force of Kent Stainless behind us we intend to fight hard and win business inj Ireland based on quality of build, process know-how and excellence in customer service. We are currently recruiting senior technical sales personnel who will be committed to servicing the needs of the Irish market".

The management team at Kent Stainless views the Solids Technology brand as one that is well capable of growth. The Solids Technology team is strong and has developed an excellent product with  international market penetration and a proven track record for innovation. Kent Stainless has a proven track record of growth and innovation and it is intended to continue this into the new business. The Board of Directors of Kent Stainless offers people with significant international business experience to assist both organisations.

It is believed that adding this resource to the commitment and expertise of the Solids Technology team will stimluate overseas growth and success in the new venture.