The Gleason Corp. early this month announced the acquistion of the gear cutting tools business from Hurth Infer Indústria de Máquinas e Ferramentas Ltda., located in Sorocaba, Brazil. Now known as Gleason Indústria de Ferramentas Ltda., the gear cutting tools business includes shaving cutters, shaper cutters, chamfering and deburring tools, as well as tool sharpening services for such products.

The new business retained current employees supporting the design and manufacture of these products, and will continue to operate in a separate facility at its current location.

"While the economy in Brazil is currently depressed, it remains a significant market for us, offering longer-term growth opportunities," explained John J. Perrotti, president and CEO of Gleason. "We have long-standing relationships with most of the gear producers in this region and expect that expanding our local manufacturing capabilities will further strengthen those relationships."

In a joint statement, Aniello Milone and Rafael Funaro, managing directors of Hurth Infer, said: "We have great respect for Gleason and believe they will continue with the fine tradition of customer service that Hurth Infer has developed for these products in the Brazilian market. We will work closely with Gleason to assure a smooth transition and maintain a close cooperation to create maximum value for our customers. By this transaction, Hurth Infer expects to focus on and strengthen the manufacturing and support of Hurth Infer's other products, such as broach tools, round tools and related services, and heat treatment services, which were not included in this transaction, in all its facilities located in Sorocaba, Joinville and Cachoeirinha, Brazil."