Gas cylinder manufacturer Pressure Technologies has acquired Hydratron for £3.3 million.

Gas cylinder manufacturer Pressure Technologies has acquired Hydratron, a producer of hydraulic pumps, for £3.3 million.

Under the terms of the deal, £2.5 million was paid upon completion and will be followed by two deferred payments of £400,000 over the next two years.

John Hayward, chief executive of Pressure Technologies, comments that Hydratron provides an anchor for other potential acquisitions serving the oil and gas sector and direct access to the US market. He adds: ‘It is a valuable addition to our portfolio of companies.’

Philip Sanders, the managing director and principal shareholder of Hydratron, will stay with the company until 2012, to manage the integration and lead the expansion of the US business.

Hydratron designs and produces air operated high pressure hydraulic pumps and control panels, mainly supplying customers in the oil and gas industries. Founded in 1981, the Cheshire-based company operates from three locations in the UK, the US and Australia, and currently employs 53 staff. In the year to April 2010, Hydratron declared a turnover of £4 million and net assets of approximately £1.1 million.

Sheffield-based Pressure Technologies designs and manufactures high pressure seamless steel gas cylinders. The company’s customers include the Royal Navy and the deep water oil and gas industry.