Sunnen Products Company acquires BTA Heller

01/02/2018

Sunnen Products Company has acquired BTA Heller Incorporated, a US-based manufacturer of deep hole tooling and systems for primary hole generation. This move aims to expand Sunnen’s industry leading honing expertise to include tooling for initial hole creation and other complementary bore sizing and finishing processes. The company will retain the BTA Heller name as a wholly owned subsidiary of Sunnen Products Company, as the companies build on natural synergies to offer complete bore creation and finishing solutions.

Pictured are BTA Heller President Mark Sollich (L) and Chris Miltenberger (R), President Sunnen Products Company make Sunnen’s acquisition of BTA Heller official, as Matt Krieder (C), Chairman Sunnen Products Company, looks on. 

“BTA Heller is a natural fit for Sunnen. Our companies complement each other very well and BTA Heller’s reputation in the industry for deep hole drilling expertise is unsurpassed,” said Chris Miltenberger, President and COO of Sunnen Products Company. “The transfer of knowledge between the two companies will create a unique value proposition for our customers. And, with this acquisition, no other deep hole/BTA company will have Sunnen’s global presence for technical and post-sale support.”

The Heller roots trace back to Germany more than 100 years ago. BTA Heller started in 1952 in Troy, MI as American Heller. In 2007, the company name changed to BTA Heller, and it has continued to produce unique tooling and processes for gun drilling, single tube, BTA, and double tube/ejector drilling systems, among others.

“We have developed various tools and systems for creating intricate internal profiled deep hole drilling from 0.5 in. to 36 in. diameter,” said Mark Sollich, President and CEO of BTA Heller. “To combine forces with Sunnen and its bore geometry expertise creates a company not found anywhere else in our industry. No one company can provide a total bore solution from the creation of the primary hole to the final bore finish specifications like we can.” Sollich will continue at the helm of BTA Heller after the acquisition, under the Sunnen Products Company umbrella.

Sunnen is the world's largest vertically integrated manufacturer of honing systems for precision bore sizing and finishing. Core technical competencies include automated and manual honing systems, custom system development and integration, abrasives, tooling, lubricants, and gaging. The company recently introduced the new SHD series skiving and roller burnishing system with tooling supplied by BTA Heller.

Headquartered in the US, Sunnen employs 650 people worldwide, with offices, manufacturing and tech support facilities throughout Europe, the U.K., China, Brazil and India. Sunnen has the largest sales and technical service network of any company in its industry to ensure full global support for its multinational customer base.