AxLoad ties up Mennens deal

AxLoad, a subsidiary of Swedish industrial group Axel Johnson, already owns Certex, Forankra and Haklift. Mennens will become part of Certex, the largest of AxLoads three divisions. Mennens achieved sales of €83m in 2011, and has 420 employees. After the deal, the combined revenues of AxLoad and Mennes will be approximately €350m, AxLoad says. Martin Malmvik, CEO of AxLoad said: “The acquisition of Mennens is an important step in our growth strategy moving our strong market leading footprint from Northern Europe into continental Europe. AxLoad will after the acquisition have 1,500 employees and a presence in Holland, Belgium, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Great Britain, France, Spain, Germany, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Russia. Peter Keith, group managing director for Certex, said: “We are thrilled to invite Mennens into our organisation and to continue to develop the business together with Mennens’ management. The deep application and product knowhow, their strong service offerings and the history of Mennens as a wire rope specialist is a perfect match for our customers and us. Finally, we are very excited that the senior management will stay on holding the remaining minority part of the shares in Mennens.” Maarten van der Velden, managing director of Mennens said: ”For Mennens this is a perfect fit. AxLoad has the same management philosophy. They are part of a very strong solid group, which strives to expand in our core business and they have no presence in the Benelux. Their extensive knowledge of the offshore and energy market will enable us to grow in this area. Last but not least being a member of an international group will give our employees exciting opportunities for personal development.