Voith Turbo announced plans to take over the gear manufacturer BHS Getriebe GmbH in Sonthofen, Germany, from majority shareholder Halder with retroactive effect from Jan. 1, 2007.

According to Voith's press release, it intends to operate BHS Getriebe GmbH within the Group Division Voith Turbo as a product group of its "industry" market division. The company will trade as an independent unit under the name Voith Turbo BHS Getriebe and will be managed jointly be the current managing directors of BHS Getriebe, Dieter Groher and Lothar Hennauer. The organization's headquarters will remain in Sonthofen, Germany.

BHS Getriebe GmbH manufactures turbo transmissions as well as couplings and rotary turning gears primarily used for energy generation, the extraction of oil and gas as well the petrochemical industry. Annual sales for 2006 were reported at 69 million euros.

Voith Turbo specializes in hydrodynamic drive, coupling and breaking systems for road, rail and industrial applications as well as ship propulsion systems.