Manroland Sheetfed GmbH, the German printing press builder acquired by the British industrialist Tony Langley in February 2012, has completed legal formalities to incorporate the company as a wholly owned subsidiary of Langley Holdings PLC, the engineering group founded by Mr Langley in 1975.

The Langley group's Interim Trading Statement for the six months to 30th June reports the Manroland Sheetfed trade in it's results from January this year although the merger was only finally ratified by the German courts earlier this month. Following re-structuring in 2012, the press builder is reported to be trading at break-even this year.

The Langley group recorded a profit before tax of €41 million for the six months to June 2013 and expects full year profit before tax to be circa €80 million. The enlarged group employs just over 4,000 people worldwide, around half of which are in Germany. Full year revenues are expected to be around €850 million, of which circa €320 million relate to the press builder.

Founded in 1871, the company that is today Manroland Sheetfed GmbH, is one of only a handful of offset litho press producers worldwide and has been responsible for many of the technological advances in the printing industry throughout the 20th and early 21st centuries.

The Manroland deal was the third for Langley in Germany since 2001, with other acquisitions in the US, France and the UK during the same period. The group specialises in acquiring under-performing or distressed capital equipment businesses with a strong market position and reputation, then re-organising and developing the businesses it acquires for the long term. To date Langley has not sold any of the businesses it has bought. The group remains 100% privately owned by the Langley family.