Koch Separation Solutions (KSS), a provider of separation technology headquartered in Wilmington, Mass., said it acquired of Willmar, Minn.-based Relco, a provider of process technologies for the dairy and food industry. The acquisition allows KSS to better serve customers and leverage the synergistic capabilities of its various complementary technologies in the dairy, food and beverage markets.

"The acquisition of Relco marks an important step in KSS' transformation to become an integrated solutions provider, delivering superior value to existing and new customers," said Manny Singh, president of KSS. "We believe that separation challenges in the dairy, food and other industries are complex and rarely solved with one technology. The acquisition of Relco adds complementary evaporation and drying technologies to the existing membrane and ion exchange offering of KSS.”

KSS said it has a long history in providing innovative membrane products to the food and dairy industry, having pioneered the development of the sanitary spiral-wound membranes commonly used today. KSS seeks to drive technological innovation to meet market needs through the vertical integration of KSS' advanced membrane filtration and ion exchange capabilities with Relco's proven evaporation, spray-drying and crystallization processes.

"I founded this company almost four decades ago offering only sanitary welding services and came to realize the greater need for custom-designed and engineered systems in the dairy market," said Loren Corle, founder and owner of Relco. "Since then, I have proudly watched Relco grow and evolve its technologies to ensure that we are always the first call when customers are faced with a challenge. I am thrilled that KSS shares that same mentality and desire to work collaboratively with their customers to develop strong, long-lasting relationships."