CINCINNATI — ProMach acquired Ferlo, a manufacturer of automated product handling systems, on Nov. 30. The acquisition will help expand ProMach’s international presence and strengthen its capacity and supply chain partnerships.

Founded in 1969, Ferlo is based in Spain and specializes in sterilization equipment for the food and pharmaceutical industries. The company offers retorts, autoclaves and pasteurizing tunnels for various food and beverage products.

“Ferlo’s significant presence and strong customer relationships outside North America make it a great fit with our existing business,” said Mark Anderson, president and chief executive officer, ProMach. “They’ve built tremendous brand reputation serving many large global companies, and it’s exactly what we need as we continue to expand internationally.”

ProMach’s brand Allpax has been collaborating with Ferlo for nearly 20 years, leveraging Ferlo’s manufacturing capabilities to supply retort equipment.

“It’s something they excel at,” said Greg Jacob, senior vice president of ProMach’s Handling and Sterilizing business line. “While they do an outstanding job outfitting Ferlo branded retort systems, they also have a best-in-class process to efficiently manufacture high-quality pressure vessels, which has developed into a great manufacturing partnership between the businesses.”

Ferlo’s personnel will join ProMach as part of its Handling and Sterilizing segment. Rafael Lopez, owner and president of Ferlo, will join ProMach as vice president and general manager of Ferlo.

“Working with ProMach’s product brands firsthand over the years, I’ve witnessed their ability to execute time and time again and win large projects,” Lopez said. “The number of orders we’ve fulfilled for Allpax and Stock America speak for themselves. I’m looking forward to taking our strategic relationship to the next level, as I feel we are well-positioned to increase our global capacity and service customers around the globe.”

As part of the acquisition, ProMach will invest in Ferlo’s personnel, brand, products, facility, services, distribution and R&D to help advance the company.

“Having a reliable international network is vital for our global customers, and we want to deliver great customer service all over the world to them,” Anderson said. “The people and products at Ferlo give ProMach a broad line of retort solutions and improve our support capabilities. We are excited about the growth opportunities at Ferlo.”

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