Sandvik acquires tap manufacturer Balax
August 3, 2022
Sandvik AB, headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, reports that it has completed the acquisition of the assets of Balax, Inc., headquartered in North Lake, Wisconsin, USA, a supplier of carbide and HSS cut taps and roll forming taps for the general engineering and automotive sectors. The company will be reported in Walter, a division within the Sandvik Manufacturing and Machining Solutions business area.
Founded in 1958, Balax states that it pioneered a cold forming taps design featuring ‘Lead Form Geometry Correction’, a process which reduces tapping torque by creating lead threads on pitch. The taps, called Thredfloers, were said to b’BALanced AXially’, leading to the company’s name of Balax. The company went on to add other metalworking tools to its product line, including thredsaver cutting taps, and thread gages.
Balax has conducts all manufacturing processes in house including blank making, heat treating, shank and square grinding, fluting, thread grinding and surface treatments. It also maintains a fully equipped tapping laboratory to test new design concepts for tapping torque, tapping speed, tool geometry, coolant or lubrication performance, pretap hole sizing, and material compatibility. Balax employs sixty-six staff members and, in 2021, saw revenues of $10 million.
Stefan Widing, CEO and president of Sandvik, commented, “The acquisition of Balax is the second acquisition by GWS during Sandvik’s ownership and is well aligned with the shift to growth strategy. Balax will strengthen our tap offering on the North American market.”
