DOVER announces Vitronics Soltec is for sale

DOVER Corporation has announced that Vitronics Soltec, a global leader in soldering systems and technology, is for sale.

The announcement was made on July 25. Reasons for the abrupt announcement were stated in a letter to customers signed by Vitronics Soltec's President, Erik Tobiason, and co-signed by four divisional Vice Presidents as well as Richard Lim, General Manager of the Suzhou, China plant.

The letter stresses that Vitronics Soltec, currently experiencing high sales volumes in part due to lead-free equipment replacement cycles, is not being sold for financial performance reasons, but due to a change in DOVER overall marketing strategy. The letter states,

"We the management team of Vitronics Soltec together with Dover would like to stress the point that the motivation for selling Vitronics is not at all related to our financial performance and is instead purely a decision made by Dover on fit with their future market segment focus. Vitronics Soltec will advise you of the completed sale as the earliest possible date..."

Reasons for the decision to sell were equally unclear. The letter, intended to quell concerns among Vitronics Soltec's customer base, goes on to say that

"After a long evaluation process and as part of a wider restructuring plan, Dover Corporation has made a strategic decision to focus on other segments in their markets..."