Germany's Henkel buys Bergquist of Chanhassen

German industrial conglomerate Henkel AG & Co. is buying Bergquist Co., a Chanhassen maker of insulating materials for electronics products, the companies said Thursday.

Terms were not disclosed.

Privately held Bergquist, founded in 1964, had sales last year of about $170 million and employs about 1,000 people at five plants in the United States and one in China.

Neither Chairman Carl Bergquist nor CEO Benoit Pouliquen responded to phone calls Thursday. The company referred to a statement from Henkel.

The acquisition "is in line with Henkel's global strategy to invest in complementary leading technologies and strengthen its position as global market and technology leader, Jan-Dirk Auris, Henkel's Executive Vice President of Adhesive Technologies said in a statement.

"Bergquist's track record in developing unique thermal-management solutions fits with our commitment to provide best-in-class customized solutions," Auris said.

In the last fiscal year, Henkel's adhesives unit produced about $10.4 billion in sales, which Henkel says makes it the "leading solution provider for adhesives, sealants and functional coatings."

Henkel said that Bergquist would add to its earnings immediately. The acquisition is subject to approval of antitrust regulators.

Bergquist operates a 130,000 square-foot corporate headquarters and research laboratory in Chanhassen. It also runs factories in Cannon Falls and Bigfork, Minn.; Brandon, S.D., and Prescott, Wis.

Bergquist also maintains sales offices in the Netherlands, Germany, Taiwan, South Korea, Hong Kong and China, and sales representatives in 30 other countries.

Family-owned Bergquist was started by Carl Bergquist 40 years ago as a one-man manufacturers' representative of electronic materials, according to a company history.

By the 1970s, Bergquist had developed a parts distribution business. A silicone company asked Bergquist to develop a material to replace mica and grease behind power transistors. He developed what is now known as "Sil-Pad" thermal interface material, and started a manufacturing operation.