By Mike Boyer
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Milacron Inc. has completed the divestiture of its metal cutting tool businesses begun two years ago by selling its Oakley-based grinding wheel business to Tyrolit Group in Austria.

Sale price and other terms of the deal weren't disclosed, but Milacron said the Cinform grinding wheel business, renamed Cincinnati Tyrolit, had $30 million in sales last year and employed 180, primarily at its headquarters in Oakley.

Milacron, which completed a $200 million refinancing in March, said the sale wouldn't have a material effect on sales, earnings or cash flow this year. Shares in the Walnut Hills-based company closed at $3.98, up 5 cents.

Cinform, a leading supplier of vitrified and resin-bonded grinding wheels, was created by Milacron after World War II to support its grinding machine business.

Two years ago, Milacron announced plans to sell off its metalworking operations to focus on faster-growing plastics-processing technology and industrial fluids. Since then, Milacron has sold its Valenite, Widia and Werko cutting tool businesses and last year sold its Talbot round tool and Minnesota Twist Drill businesses.

A spokesman for Schwaz, Austria-based Tyrolit couldn't be reached for comment. But the company said in a news release it hoped to use the former Milacron business to accelerate its growth in North America.

The United States represents a third of the world market for bonded abrasives, Tyrolit said, and almost all of Cinform's sales are in North America.

Tyrolit is Europe's leading maker of bonded abrasives and abrasives and diamond tools for manufacturing and construction.

The company had revenues last year of more than $500 million and employed 3,400 at 21 facilities - including Elyria, Ohio-based Diamond Products, which supplies diamond saws and core drills for construction.

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E-mail mboyer@enquirer.com