Atlas Copco North America last week agreed to acquire Houston Service Industries, a U.S. manufacturer of low-pressure blowers and vacuum pumps. The company has a strong domestic position in equipment for the wastewater treatment and industrial process sectors, offering sales synergies with Atlas Copco’s existing products in these market segments.

Houston Service Industries, which is privately owned, had revenues in the past 12 months of U.S. $37 million and 123 employees. The company is a leading manufacturer of multistage centrifugal blowers, a traditional low-pressure technology. It has recently introduced high-speed drive turbo blowers, an innovative and energy-efficient technology.

“This acquisition fits very well with our ambition to develop a globally leading position in the market for low-pressure equipment, extending our offering to blowers of nearly all sizes,” said Stephan Kuhn, business area president, Atlas Copco Compressor Technique. “We see especially good growth opportunities in wastewater treatment, where there is great demand for more energy-efficient products.”

Conventional municipal wastewater treatment plants use bacteria to break up waste, which requires large amounts of air blown into aeration tanks. The aeration blower system can account for up to 70 percent of the energy usage in a typical biological wastewater treatment plant.

Houston Service Industries will be part of the Oil-free Air division within the Compressor Technique business area. The company will continue operating under the HSI brand. For more information, visit www.hsiblowers.com. The acquisition is expected to be closed during the first quarter of 2012. The parties have agreed not to disclose the purchase price.

Atlas Copco, based in Stockholm, Sweden, is an industrial group with world-leading positions in compressors, expanders and air treatment systems, construction and mining equipment, power tools and assembly systems.

The Compressor Technique business area provides industrial compressors, gas and process compressors and expanders, air and gas treatment equipment and air management systems. It has a global service network and offers specialty rental services. Principal product development and manufacturing units are located in Belgium, Germany, the United States, China and India.