Windlass acquires Spanish company

Windlass Steelcrafts has acquired Marto, a leading European company in Spain that manufactures decorative historical swords, a company official said today.

The total net worth of Marto is believed to be around Rs 150 crore. The acquisition will also include Marto's two sister companies -- Bermejo, which manufactures military dress swords for many international governments and Midas, a high-end jewellery manufacturer catering to the world's gift market.

"We have signed the acquisition papers and now own the Marto Group of Companies of Toledo in Spain, plus its 150 years' old military sword manufacturer company Bermejo. All this has been bought through Atlanta Cutlery Corporation Inc. of the USA at an undisclosed sum," said Sudhir K Windlass, the President of the Windlass Group of Companies.

With this acquisition, Windlass becomes the largest swordmaker in the world with the biggest market share. It now has its manufacturing facilities at Dehradun in India, Conyers Atlanta in the US and Toledo in Spain, he said.

Founded in 1961 at Toledo in Spain, Marto brings to life the original art of the sword in the world. The acquisition will give Windlass the new tag of world leader in the sector, Windlass said.

Established in 1943, the group has come a long way from historical weapons to diversify into a wide-ranging sectors like clothings, pharmaceuticals, real estate and hotel businesses.

Through some key partnerships, Windlass started exporting to the US and Western European nations in 1979 and has since outfitted many armies of the world, provided props to the biggest Hollywood productions like Gladiator, The Lord of The Rings, Troy and The Mummy Returns and manufactured some amazing licenced replicas of many top collectible items.