Axel Johnson buys two UK conveyor makers with 145 staff
What's the deal? Axel Johnson InternationalDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →'s Industrial Automation unit has acquired UK manufacturers Conveyor Units Ltd.Dealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → and Bridge Bearings Ltd. The deal value was not disclosed.
What each side brings: Conveyor Units makes floor-based conveyors and related components for system integrators and OEMs, serving manufacturing, warehousing, intralogistics and parcel handling. Sister company Bridge Bearings supplies a broad range of bearings. Together the two firms employ 145 people across sites in Stourport-on-Severn and Lye.
What's the endgame? For Axel JohnsonDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, a privately owned Swedish group of 220+ companies, this is a targeted addition to its materials-handling portfolio. The buyer says the products complement its existing businesses in the sector.
"Their technical expertise and product offering complement our existing material handling businesses, and we see great potential to develop them further together," said Anton Kullh, managing director of Industrial Automation.
What changes? Little, for now. The companies will keep their current management team, led by managing director Liam Naven-Jones. Former owners Ian Bytheway and Robert Hickman will stay on during a transition period.
The businesses carry more than 60 years of history. Edward Toye founded Bridge Bearings in 1958 and Conveyor Units in 1963; Bytheway and Hickman later took over.
"Finding the right long-term owner has therefore been important to us," Hickman said.
The signal: The deal fits a wider pattern of materials-handling suppliers using acquisitions to broaden their product range. In May 2026, Interroll bought Dutch conveyor maker Royal Apollo GroupDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, adding spiral-conveyor technology. For buyers like Axel Johnson, bolt-on acquisitions remain the quickest route to deeper capability in intralogistics and parcel handling.
Read more: materialhandling247.com
Image credit: Generated with Gemini
