Klinge Corp., a York-area company making specialized shipping containers, has been sold.
The buyer is Trane Technologies, an Ireland-based company that makes HVAC and refrigeration systems, and its transportation-focused subsidiary, Thermo King.
Terms of the transaction, which closed Aug. 1, were not disclosed.
In a statement, Thermo King Americas president Adam Wittwer described the acquisition as “a natural extension” of the company’s strategy.
“We look forward to working together with the talented Klinge team to accelerate growth, create new value for our respective customers and, above all, ensure communities around the world receive important goods safely and efficiently,” he said.
Klinge, which employs about 60 people, will keep its name and leadership, according to a Trane spokesperson.
The seller: Klinge operates out of an unassuming facility at 4075 E. Market St. in Springettsbury Township.
The business is named after its founders, the father-and-son team of Paul and Henrik Klinge, who were originally from Denmark.
The Klinges became active in the refrigerated container business in the 1970s and struck up relationships with York Refrigeration and Borg Warner, which eventually became York International.
In the 1980s, they purchased Borg Warner’s marine transport business in York and renamed it Klinge.
Allan Klinge, Henrik’s son, is the company’s CEO. Henrik is a director.
What does it make: Temperature-controlled shipping containers designed to protect high-value products like phamaceuticals and electronics.
Recent growth has come from demand for transporting lithium electrolytes used in batteries and sulfuric acid for use in semiconductor manufacturing, a high priority in the U.S., according to a profile of Klinge last summer in HCB Monthly, a trade pub for the hazardous cargo industry.
The buyer: Trane employs about 40,000 people in 60 counties and had revenue last year of nearly $12 billion, up from $10.9 billion the previous year.
To grow, the company relies on the development of new products and services, whether through internal R&D or acquisitions of other companies. Thermo King is one of its chief brands.
Trane traces its roots to a family plumbing business founded in 1885.
Its name has long been associated with air conditioners, which Trane first developed in 1931.
The company has gone through several permutations, including a 2008 acquisition by Ingersoll-Rand, a manufacturer of industrial tools.
In 2020, Ingersoll-Rand spun off its tools business as Ingersoll-Rand and renamed the remaining business Trane Technologies.
In other manufacturing news: Miter Brands, a residential window and door manufacturer based in Susquehanna Township, Dauphin County, is divesting two business lines in two separate transactions.
Terms of the transactions, described as helping Miter focus on its core manufacturing business, were not disclosed.
Miter sold its Martin Door subsidiary, which makes garage doors, to Midland Garage Door, which has offices and operations in Minnesota, Nebraska and North Dakota. Martin Door employs about 150 people, according to a Miter spokesperson.
Miter sold its CRI SoCal subsidiary, an Orange County, California-based installer of high-end doors and windows, to Builders FirstSource, a building products company based in Irving, Texas. CRI employs 50 people.
