Buffett unit buys agricultural products Ironwood, plastics, automobile manufacturer, pumps

Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. is expanding its CTB, Inc., a manufacturer of feeder pigs and farm equipment, by the addition of a Michigan-based producer of plastic components used by the automotive industry and the military.

CTB bought Ironwood Plastics, which was founded in 1979 and has manufacturing facilities in Michigan and Wisconsin, a subsidiary of Berkshire, said in a statement posted on its website. Terms were not disclosed.

Buffett, 80, has financed the expansion CTB from Omaha, Nebraska-based Berkshire bought the maker of PigTek and Chore-Time products in 2002. CTB, whose predecessor was founded in 1952 to serve farmers of poultry and livestock, later expanded into grain storage.

"The combination of Ironwood Plastics' management skill and process along with its wide variety of plastic processes will open up many new possibilities for us," said Director General Victor Mancinelli CTB in the statement.

Ironwood enter the agricultural market expansion outside the U.S. and Canada, while maintaining service for existing customers, the statement said.

Ironwood is custom precision molded plastics for automotive, military and industrial, including parts for bomb fuses, sensors and gauges of electric car, said Mark Stephens, president of the company, in an interview. The company has about 165 employees, Stephens said. He declined to disclose annual revenue. CTB has over 1,100 employees, Berkshire said in its latest annual report.

Stephens co-founded the company with his father Gordon, according to the statement CTB. Mark Stephens will continue to run the business along with Rick Faustich Ironwood, CTB said.

Buffett said in October that he prefers to keep the former owners after the acquisitions, because they have a "passion" for their companies.