The French electronics manufacturing services company Asteelflash, which has operations in Bedford, has acquired American EMS company, Catalyst Manufacturing Services Inc – based on the East Coast of the US and in Mexico.

It has a presence on four continents – Europe, North America, Asia and North Africa – and is already established on the West Coast of the United States.

It now extends its presence in the US with three production sites located in Owego (New York), Raleigh (North Carolina) and Tijuana (Mexico).

The acquisition of Catalyst will also allow Asteelflash to strengthen its activities in segments that are already well established in the group, such as Mil/Aero, Medical and Industrial, while increasing its manufacturing capacity in North America.

The three production plants are AS 9100 and NADCAP (aerospace) as well as ISO 13485 (medical) certified and support quality systems meeting the stringent requirements of customers operating in these industry segments. With this acquisition, Asteelflash plans to extend its business development across the United States.

Gilles Benhamou, president and CEO of Asteelflash, said: “The Owego and Raleigh production plants are strategic locations for the development of solid partnerships with our customers on the East Coast.

“We intend to enhance our industrial manufacturing and engineering services, in particular by offering new product introduction (NPI) services on our North American customers' doorstep.

“With the acquisition of Catalyst, Asteelflash will also gain a high-quality site in Tijuana, Mexico, which supports our growth plans for North America. With China, Tunisia and now Mexico, Asteelflash can offer optimised supply chain solutions for our customers, offering proximity in combination with (in-region) low cost manufacturing capabilities.”

After posting revenues of $780 million in 2011, Asteelflash expects to top $900 million in 2012 – more than $400 million in North America.