Probat Extends Reach with Two Equipment Manufacturer Acquisitions

A Probat roaster. Daily Coffee News photo by Nick Brown.

German coffee roasting equipment giant Probat is on something of a buying streak, acquiring two separate food processing equipment companies within a two-week span.

The companies add to the Probat Group portfolio while also expanding the 156-year-old company‘s reach beyond the coffee-related equipment sphere.

Late last month, the company announced it had acquired Dallas, Texas-based AC Horn Manufacturing, which builds a broad range of roasting and coating equipment for foods such as popcorn, nuts and other processed snack foods.

The AC Horn Manufacturing headquarters in Dallas. Probat press photo.

A week later, on March 5, the company announced its acquisition of Royal Duyvis Wiener, a Dutch manufacturer of equipment for cocoa and chocolate processing.

“After the recent integration of AC Horn, the acquisition of Royal Duyvis Wiener with its unique product portfolio is another milestone on our way to becoming a dominant force in the coffee, cocoa, chocolate, and nut processing industries,” the company said in an announcement of the latter acquisition. “Probat is the undisputed world market leader in plant and machinery for coffee refinement with more than two centuries of process engineering expertise. Together with Duyvis Wiener, we will create synergies that will shape the future of the cocoa and chocolate industry.”

The Royal Duyvis Wiener headquarters in Koog aan de Zaan, The Netherlands. Probat press photo.

The terms of the acquisitions have not been publicly announced.

Back in the coffee space, Probat also recently announced a supply partnership with the German catalytic converter manufacturer Reicat Environmental Solutions. That deal is bringing Reicat’s all-electric powered Reicatino catalysts — designed to reduce fossil fuel consumption while decreasing odor and emissions during roasting — to Probat machinery.

In the meantime, the company continues to add to its popular P Series of commercial roasting equipment, including a 12-kilo machine that was introduced earlier this year.

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