Middleby to acquire Marel High Speed Slicing business unit

The Middleby Corp. Tuesday announced it will acquire the assets and the manufacturing facility of the High Speed Slicing business unit of Marel, based in Norwich, United Kingdom.

The slicing business has annual revenues of approximately $15 million.

Elgin-based Middleby will rebrand these products under the original trademark Thurne, and will continue to manufacture the broad line of high speed slicers and integrated slicing systems. Thurne slicing technology includes automated bacon, deli meat and cheese slicing equipment that provide our customers with a unique solution to reduce labor, increase production throughput, and save on food costs while assuring quality through precise portion control.

"We are excited to add Thurne to our Food Processing portfolio of leading brands. This acquisition continues our strategy of adding integrated systems to complete total line solutions that we offer to the food processing industries, and enables us to better serve our customers," said Selim A. Bassoul, Chairman and CEO of The Middleby Corporation.

The closing of the transaction is scheduled to take place prior to the end of the first quarter of 2015.