Austin Engineering Limited says it has entered into a binding agreement to acquire Australia-based mining equipment manufacturer, Mainetec Pty Ltd, for an initial amount of A$19.6 million ($13.4 million), funded through cash reserves and debt.

Three further earn-out payments will be made if Mainetec achieves agreed performance hurdles in the three years following completion, Austin clarified.

The acquisition will give Austin access to Mainetec’s Hulk range of high performance mining buckets, increasing the potential customer base in all of Austin’s markets, it said. The Hulk buckets complement Austin’s recently-launched JEC bucket range and the dual product offering will increase Austin’s bucket market share in Australia, especially on the East Coast where Mainetec has a well-established presence.

Austin also plans to offer Mainetec’s high value dipper buckets into its global markets, particularly North and South America, where there is high demand and a large dipper bucket market.

Mainetec is a leader in the design and manufacture of high performance, customised excavator mining buckets and currently supplies several blue-chip mining companies, according to Austin. It builds and upgrades dipper buckets, and supplies the majority of dipper bucket systems in Australia. It also manufactures rope shovels, and offers bucket repairs and spare parts.

Mainetec is expected to have revenue of more than A$40 million (on an annualised basis) for the 2023 financial year (to June 30, 2023), with the acquisition expected to deliver significant synergies through the lower supply chain costs Austin is able to provide, and optimised operating costs.

Austin CEO and Managing Director, David Singleton, said: “The key benefits of this acquisition for Austin are the ability to expand our mining bucket offering in Australia and then to offer that into our other markets around the world. Mainetec is a technology-led business that has developed the Hulk range of buckets suited to demanding applications and has also become a key supplier in Australia for dipper buckets used on rope shovels. Dipper buckets are typically the largest used in the industry and we will be able to introduce these upgrades through our operations in the much larger Americas markets. Mainetec’s presence on the East Coast of Australia will also support our re-energised activity in that region.

“The acquisition has clear synergies for both companies. Mainetec complements our core business offering and Austin is able to integrate more competitive supply chain economics and cost synergies into the Mainetec business.

“Additionally, in Mainetec we gain a very talented team as well as some leading design IP. I am pleased to welcome the founders of Mainetec and their workforce to Austin, with the determination that Austin will assist them to continue product development that will enable further growth and success in Australia and beyond.”