Dive Brief:
- JBT, which manufacturers food production equipment for numerous market segments, has acquired smaller rival Wolf-tec for $54 million.
- Wolf-tec, based in Kingston, NY, makes a variety of types of meat- and seafood-processing machines that massage, separate, blend, and more.
- The purchase is the third acquisition by Chicago-based JBT in 2014.
Dive Insight:
JBT is growing at an extraordinary rate, and much of that growth is fueled by its acquisitions strategy. The company intends to reach roughly $1.3 billion in sales by 2017, up from the $934 million recorded in 2013.
It's possible the company will reach that level through organic growth and the development of new technologies, and JBT is pursuing those avenues. But M&A is what JBT appears to be doing quite well, so it seems pretty likely that the Wolf-tec purchase is not the last one we'll see from JBT.