New Zealand baggage-handling firm Glidepath has been acquired by French-based robotics company B2A Technology for an undisclosed sum.
Glidepath’s executive chairman and founder Sir Ken Stevens said that after nearly 50 years it was time for him and his family to sell and move on.
“The sale will allow Glidepath to build on its strong performance and prospects with a new owner who has the right synergies, capabilities and customer centric values to step up and take the business to the next level of growth.”
Glidepath’s rapid growth over the last decade can be attributed to the boom in international travel and parcel growth. Sir Stevens, who was knighted in 2007, will step down as executive chairman of the company, which has more than 1000 projects in 68 countries.
Head-quartered in New Zealand, Glidepath has a network of regional offices operating across Canada, US, Latin America, India, South Africa, the Pacific and Australasia.
Meanwhile B2A Technology president, Pierre Marol, explained how the acquisition of Glidepath will boost the growth potential of his combined group, which includes Alstef, BA Systèmes. “Glidepath can offer a wider global market presence, expanding and complementary product range and greater commercial strength while remaining true to the shared values of collaborative innovation, customer focus and care for its people,” he said.
Evolved from the meeting between Alstef and BA Systemes, B2A Technololgy designs, integrates and maintains intralogistic solutions to improve the performance of logistics processes. It’s mission is to support its worldwide customer base by providing them with turnkey integrated systems and services. With 500 employees and €100m turnover, B2A currently manages baggage handling systems on four continents.
