Left to right: Les Reeves, joint managing director of Dawson Shanahan; Pekka Kleemola, Luvata Group’s president and CEO; David Dawson, chairman and joint managing director of Dawson Shanahan; and Mark Jennings, Dawson Shanahan’s engineering director

Welshpool-based Dawson Shanahan Group, a leading producer of highly engineered and fabricated copper and metal components used in the aerospace, automotive, medical, power distribution, and industrial markets has been acquired by Finnish company Luvata Oy, a world leader in copper manufacturing and related engineering services.

Pekka Kleemola, Luvata Group’s president and CEO, said: “As we state in our strategy, Luvata is looking to grow the business and become the leading provider of copper solutions for the benefit of people, society and the Earth. E-mobility, general electrification and green transition as well as healthcare are all important growth drivers for us. This acquisition is a great example of strategy execution and Dawson Shanahan is a perfect fit to our business portfolio.”

Dawson Shanahan will become part of Luvata’s Formed Products Business Unit (FPBU) which includes factories in Welwyn Garden City, Delaware Ohio, Sao Paulo Brazil, and Suzhou China. FPBU is one of the world’s leading suppliers of copper-based resistance welding electrodes and alloyed copper brazing wire, and supplies automotive customers worldwide.

Dirk Greywitt, executive vice president of FPBU, said: “Dawson Shanahan’s expertise, location, and deep innovative knowledge of copper component fabrication will position Luvata to meet the growing demand in Europe for highly engineered copper components used in electric vehicles (EVs).”

These vehicles require significant numbers of components made from high purity copper and nonferrous materials. The adoption of EVs is already underway in Europe, and globally, and is expected to rapidly continue throughout the upcoming decade, as governments and consumers work together to phase out the use and sale of combustion engines.

Mr Greywitt added: “I am excited to have the Dawson Shanahan team join our business. We look forward to working together to harness our combined strengths to meet the growing demands for precision copper components needed to make EVs.”

David Dawson, founder and owner of Dawson Shanahan said: “I couldn’t be happier to sell the company I built during my working life to Luvata. It is a perfect fit and we have a similar approach to providing value-added solutions to our customers. Luvata is a well-known and global brand that will allow Dawson Shanahan to prosper and grow in the future as it continues to become an integral part of the green revolution. We are excited to start working with our new colleagues at Luvata. The current management team of Dawson Shanahan will continue in their duties, with Les Reeves as the managing director.”

Luvata employs over 1,400 people on four continents, and works in partnership with customers such as ABB, CERN and Siemens. It is a group company of Mitsubishi Materials Corporation.