Rolla propellers sold to Twin Disc
 

From Trade Only

http://www.tradeonlytoday.com/#twind...propmakerrolla

Twin Disc buys Swiss prop maker Rolla

Twin Disc Inc. of Racine, Wis., has acquired Rolla SP Propellers SA, a Balerna, Switzerland-based manufacturer of marine propellers.

Twin Disc is paying $6.2 million cash for Rolla, which has annual sales of about $6 million. Founded in 1963 by Philip Rolla, the company offers customized propellers and consulting services to the high-end performance marine propulsion market.

“We are very excited to have Rolla and its employees become part of the global Twin Disc family,” Michael Batten, chairman and CEO of Twin Disc, said in a statement. “Phil and his team have worked closely with Twin Disc in the past and have been an integral part of the success of our Arneson Surface Drive product line.”

Rolla’s technology includes performance and power prediction of both planing and displacement craft; propeller design and manufacturing; estimation of complete hydrodynamic characteristics of the propeller geometry; and propeller cavitation characteristics through exclusive lifting surface and CFD panel method programs.

“Rolla’s unique technology-intensive approach provides value-added services and products to its customers,” said Batten. “Its ability to apply its hydrodynamic technology to predict performance of entire propulsion systems makes Rolla an indispensable partner to boatbuilders who save valuable time and expense when bringing new models to market.”

Re: Rolla propellers sold to Twin Disc
 

Hmmm, Rolla were acting kinda weird lately, not doing prop calculations and you really had to twist their arm for a price quote. This kinda explains it... I hope nothing changes too much (especially prices) for us ZF Trimax users. ZF Trimax is very much a direct competitor with Twin Disc Arneson and I hope I'll still be able to get Rollas at reasonable prices from a competitor. I can't see myself using anything other than Rollas anyway...