Thule acquired Pewag Schneeketten Group, the Austrian based supplier of snow chains. Pewag offers snow chains for passenger cars and for professional use and is part of the family owned Pewag Group that also supplies chains for industrial such as tire protection and lifting gears. Pewag's snow chain business has annual net sales of €48 million ($58 mm) and employs 325 employees at 7 sales and production sites in Europe and North America. The deal is conditional upon approval of anti trust authorities in different European countries.

“The acquisition more than doubles the size of our current snow chains portfolio with the help of Pewag's strong market positions for example in Austria”, comments Anders Petter­sson, CEO and President of the Thule Group. “We have seen good organic growth rates during the past years triggered by intensive product development, broad distribution and strong brands”, adds Anders Pettersson. “Combining Pewag with Thule's König branded snow chain operations will create a global player for snow chains which fully supports our vision of providing transportation solutions for active customers around the world wanting to transport their gear by a vehicle safely, easily and in style”, concludes Anders Pettersson.

“We want to concentrate on industrial applications for chains, thus Thule was the ideal partner to develop further our portfolio of snow chains for passenger cars and professional applications”, says Ägyd Pengg, owner of the Pewag Group. “Both companies share the same vision of providing first class products on a global scale and Thule has the reputation of being a responsible employer”, adds Ägyd Pengg.