An East Sussex-based manufacturer of pumps and condensers for the air conditioning industry is to develop new products after buying one of its suppliers.

An East Sussex-based manufacturer of pumps and condensers for the air conditioning industry is to develop new products after buying one of its suppliers.

Aspen Pumps, which specialises in products that removes condensation from air conditioning systems, has bought Orchard Electronic, a designer and manufacturer of printed circuit boards and miniature air conditioning pumps.

Orchard has been a key supplier to Aspen for ten years and was targeted to bring design expertise in-house to accelerate its new product development programme.

The financial terms of the deal have not been disclosed, but funding was arranged by Christian Hamilton and Charles Thompson of Inflexion Private Equity. The firm has held a majority stake in Aspen since it backed a management buy-out at the company in March.

Inflexion’s managing partner, Simon Turner, said the firm backed the deal after identifying Orchard as “a natural fit” for Aspen’s plan to expand its product range.

Post completion, there will be no changes to Orchard’s management structure and it will continue to be led by managing director David Gowland.

Aspen was established in 1992 by three air conditioning and refrigeration equipment engineers. Today it has 60 employs and supplies its products to more than 50 countries.

Orchard, which has been trading for ten years, employs 35 staff at its 8,000 sq ft factory in East Sussex.