Global material handling equipment supplierDematic, Luxembourg, said it agreed to purchase North American competitorHK Systems Inc., New Berlin, Wis. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Officials said they expect to finalize the transaction during the third quarter of 2010.

“With the addition of HK Systems and its highly complementary market focus, Dematic will be able to provide customers throughout the world an enhanced solutions offering," said Roar Isaksen, Dematic president and CEO. "We can now leverage our respective expertise and experience in serving the supply chain logistics market not only in North America but globally, to deliver added value to both existing and potential customers."

Isaksen said the companies' combined product portfolios and solutions "offer customers a wider range of state-of-the-art material handling systems and services." He said the combined companies also will be able to provide an end to end solution footprint for a wider variety of market sectors from manufacturing to distribution.

John Baysore is president and CEO of  Dematic North America, Grand Rapids, Mich.

“Customers are calling for integrated solutions that enable them to move products and information fast, reliably and efficiently through the supply chain," he said. “By combining the passion, creativity and technology of two synergistic companies, we will continue to drive innovations that help customers optimize their production and distribution operations.”

John Splude, is executive chairman of HK systems.

“This merger is a great opportunity for the employees of HK Systems to become part of a worldwide corporation. HK Systems’ logistics capabilities and integration strength will give the joint organization expanded opportunities to grow in new vertical markets in North America and beyond,” he said.

HK Systems' product and service offerings include solution design, solution delivery including automated storage and retrieval systems, automated guided vehicles, conveyance, sortation, customer services, RFID solutions, and logistics software and solution support.