ATA Announces Swiss Acquisition & Appointment of Group Corporate Development Director

ATA, the Irish-owned international precision engineering group, has acquired the manufacturing activities of Näpflin Schleiftechnik AG and announces the appointment of Mr. Shane Lawlor as Group Corporate Development Director.

Näpflin is owned and managed by Roland Näpflin, who has almost thirty years of experience designing and manufacturing precision tools. The company manufactures a range of rotary carbide micro-endmills for highly-specialised applications and provides regrind and distribution services for a broader range of carbide cutting tools. Näpflin is a long-term manufacturing partner of Karnasch Professional Tools which ATA previously acquired in 2019. 

Under the terms of the transaction, ATA has acquired a majority shareholding in the manufacturing activities of Näpflin including the trade, assets, employees and equipment related thereto. Roland Näpflin will retain a minority shareholding in the new entity, ATA Tools Suisse AG. Roland has also been appointed Managing Director of ATA Tools Suisse AG and will oversee the new entity’s strategic development and growth within the ATA group. 

Following on from its acquisition of Karnasch Professional Tools in 2019, the acquisition and creation of ATA Tools Suisse AG further expands ATA’s product development and manufacturing capabilities to offer a broader range of precision tools to ATA’s global customer base.

Group Corporate Development Director
ATA also announces that, as of the end of August 2021, it has appointed Mr. Shane Lawlor as Group Corporate Development Director. Shane will work on a range of M&A and corporate finance projects and is to provide a dedicated focus on the company’s acquisition strategy. 

Shane is a qualified Chartered Accountant having trained with PWC and, prior to joining ATA, spent over fourteen years as a senior corporate finance director at Investec Bank Ireland (previously NCB Stockbrokers). He also previously spent eight years in London with Close Brothers Corporate Finance and Hewlett Packard. Shane has extensive experience advising both large public and private companies on a broad range of fundraisings, acquisitions, disposals and other strategic projects.