By Kate Tilley
CORRESPONDENT
Published: December 2, 2013 4:02 pm ET
Updated: December 2, 2013 4:03 pm ET
MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA — An Australian plastic components manufacturer has bought one of its major clients, the Australian arm of an Austrian-based lighting products manufacturer.
Melbourne-based Custom Mould Plastics Pty. Ltd. (CMP) bought lighting component maker Tridonic Manufacturing Pty. Ltd., also based in Melbourne.
CMP general manager Goran Andonovski will not say what the deal is worth.
CMP bought the company from Dornbirn, Austria-based Tridonic GmbH & Co KG, which is a subsidiary of Zumtobel AG.
Tridonic’s Tullamarine plant manufactures magnetic ballasts, which limit the amount of current in electrical circuits; LED modules and converters; and lighting management systems.
CMP, which has supplied parts to Tridonic for 10 years, will continue producing and selling magnetic ballasts for the Australian market under a new brand name, CMP Controls.
Andonovski told Plastics News the 100 percent buyout will secure a stronger future for both companies.
CMP, which will remain a supply partner for Tridonic’s global divisions, has been making low and high density polyethylene, polypropylene and polystyrene components for more than 15 years and has 100 staff.
“We’ve been a supplier to Tridonic for many years, so we saw it as a great fit and a natural progression,” Andonovski said.
Andonovski said a major consideration for CMP is the chance to retain domestic skills and production standards in Australia, rather than Tridonic being sold to an overseas buyer.
‘‘We’ve got some really good technologies and some very highly trained people, so to shift all that overseas would not have been acceptable in our minds,” he said.
Andonovski said CMP supplies “virtually anything that can be molded” to Tridonic, including components made from biodegradable plastics, which are slowly becoming more prevalent in the electrical industry.
“Biodegradable components are still a bit expensive and only used in special cases but we are starting to see more of them,” he said.
Tridonic’s Australian CEO Alfred Felder said the sale to CMP strengthens job prospects for staff at the plant and ensures the Australian lighting market has an ongoing supply of magnetic control gear requirements. He said Tridonic will now focus on electronic ballasts and LED technology. | 
