Dover Corp.

Dover Corporation

Headquartered in Downers Grove, Illinois, Dover Corporation is an industrial conglomerate consisting of nearly 40 separate businesses. The company is the leader in many niche markets, offering a variety of specialized industrial products and manufacturing equipment world-wide. In 2010, Dover generated revenues of $7.1 billion with 46% from international markets.

Dover operates in four segments.  Industrial Products (26% of 2010 revenue) segment provides material handling products and services that help customers improve productivity, and components used for construction of mobile equipment for the transportation, vehicle service and solid waste management markets. Examples of material handling products include truck cabs, cabinets, wall mounts, racks, tools (clamps, indexers, grippers, and conveyors), construction and demolition equipment,  automotive hydraulics, worm speed reducers used in cranes and truck equipment, and four-wheel-drive equipment and accessories. Mobile equipment components include those for garbage trucks (front loaders, rear loaders, and recycling units), aluminum tank trailers, balers, compacters, cash wash equipment, automobile products (suspension, braking, clutching, and chassis components), equipment on aircrafts, and automotive hydraulic lifts.

Engineered Systems (31% of 2010 revenue) provides products and services for the refrigeration, storage, packaging and preparation of food products, as well as industrial marking and coding systems for various markets. 

Fluid Management (23% of 2010 revenue) provides products and services for managing customers’ critical fluids including liquids, gases and other solutions that are hazardous, valuable or process-critical. Products are highly engineered with cost-saving technologies that help contain, control, move, measure and monitor these critical fluids. Products include seal rings and packing cases, pumps and valves, monitoring systems, drilling components for oil drill bits, magnets and bearings. End markets served include oil, water, and chemical industries.

Electronic Technologies (20% of 2010 revenue) manufactures electronic testing, material deposition and manual soldering equipment, advanced micro-acoustic components, and specialty electronic components. Selling through a network of distributors, the products are used in wireless and wireline, military and space, and industrial/manufacturing markets.

Dover supplements internal growth with acquisitions. The company’s long-term business objectives are sales growth of 7-10% (including organic growth of 4-5% and acquisition growth of 3-5%), and earnings growth of 10-13% annually.  The company has spent around $1.8 billion on acquisitions during the past five years, focusing on small-size businesses that either compliment or expand its product offerings. Through the adoption of Dover’s best practices, the acquired businesses are expected to achieve Dover’s internal targets of at least 15% operating margins and 25% after-tax return on investment.