Interroll, once known as a manufacturer of drives and rollers, is making an aggressive effort to expand its footprint in global markets, both in the scale of its presence and the breadth of its product offerings.
Tim McGill, president of North and South America for Interroll, said in an interview during the Modex show this week that the company is committed to deriving 50 percent of its revenue from markets outside Europe within two years, and from the United States and Asia in particular. "Our customers require us to be global," McGill said. "It is the only way to make ourselves viable."
He added that the rapid growth of e-commerce fits well with the company's strength in systems for DCs, such as its cross-belt sorters. He said handling small items and flats is a specialty of its products.
The company, which opened a new manufacturing and distribution facility in Hiram, Ga., this year, plans to make $40 million in new investments in the Americas in the next three years (including the Hiram investment), he added. The Hiram plant, near Atlanta, will manufacture dynamic storage equipment, modules, and subsystems that will drive operations in distribution facilities throughout the Americas.
The company also operates a production facility for rollers, roller drives, and drum motors in Wilmington, N.C., and has subsidiaries in Canada and Brazil. Last year, it acquired Portec Inc., a Cañon City, Colo.-based provider of belt curves. McGill said the company is actively seeking additional acquisitions.
He added that the company will announce a major revamping of its product line in May during the CeMat show in Hannover, Germany.
Interroll, which sells through systems integrators, has end customers that include Coca-Cola, Home Depot, Procter & Gamble, Amazon.com, Frito-Lay, and UPS.
