CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Hawk Corp. has acquired certain assets of Sangte Plate Manufacturing Co. Ltd. located in Suzhou, China, near Hawk's existing Chinese facility in the region. Terms of the transaction were not announced.

Sangte has been a supplier of steel backing and opposing plates used in Hawk's China-based manufacturing for many years. Sangte's production capacity and technology will be integrated into Hawk's internal processes, as Hawk continues to expand its capabilities in Asia.

This acquisition is tied to Hawk's recent initiatives in China to capture more of the Asian friction markets. In conjunction with these initiatives, Hawk has established a research and development department in its Chinese facility that will be led by Hawk's former head of North American Research and Development, Rich Dowell. Dowell possesses more than 30 years of friction technology expertise. Dowell will be relocating to Suzhou full-time to lead engineering and build a local research and development capability. In addition, the company announced said it has enhanced its testing capability in China and added additional sales personnel to further serve the Asian friction markets.

Ronald Weinberg, chairman and CEO of Hawk, noted, "These initiatives are part of our plan to further build our business in one of the fastest-growing and largest economies in the world. We are not in Asia simply as a cost-saving mechanism, but as part of a long-term strategic plan. The localization of manufacturing, sales and marketing combined with research and development of advanced products in China, are all part of our efforts to better serve our customers in Asia."