COOKLEY-based wheel maker, Titan Europe, has acquired the Australian company, Wheel and Rim Engineering, in a £2.1 million deal.

The Australian business, based in Brisbane, Queensland, specialises in the manufacture of large wheels for earth moving, construction and agricultural vehicles.

Wheel and Rims Engineering had a turnover of more than £2 million in the financial year to the end of June.

The company has patented an innovative outside vertical mount - OVM - wheel design in Australia, United States and South Africa, with patent approval pending in China and Japan.

The OVM enables vehicle operators to change the rear inside tyre and wheel on large haul dump trucks without having to remove the outside wheel, saving hours of down time.

Titan Europe's chief executive, Mike Akers, said: "We are very pleased to have acquired Wheel and Rims Engineering, including the patents to their OVM product."