GEA says it will retain the Bock name and make Bock's Frickenhausen manufacturing site its 'competence centre' for small compressors.
The German industrial group made the announcement after being given the legal go-ahead to complete the acquisition of the German refrigeration compressor company.

The announcement also secures the future of over 340 staff at Frickenhausen and those at Bock's foreign plants.

GEA said it will continue to market the smaller compressors under the Bock name, the medium and large compressors will be further branded Grasso. Thies Hachfeld and Klaus Stojentin from GEA Grasso in Berlin will join Udo Klaussner from Bock Kältemaschinen as the new management trio at Frickenhausen.

GEA announced its intetions to buy the family-owned German refrigeration compressor manufacturer at the end of last year. The move, which included additional manufacturing sites in the Czech Republic, India and China, extends GEA's compressor offering in the lower and medium output ranges.

Dr Hugo Blaum, president of the GEA Segment Refrigeration Technologies, said: 'The capacity of Bock compressors outstandingly harmonizes with many products of GEA such as the close control systems by GEA Denco, GEA Fricostar dehumidifiers, our Searle outdoor units, and process-engineering facilities. Being able to resort to in-house know-how and our own production facilities enhances not only the added value in GEA internally, but also allows over the middle term even better harmonisation of the equipment and facility components of our companies.'