Explosion Protection Provider to Make Biggest Acquisition in Company's History

BARTEC (Germany), a leading global provider of explosion protection, is continuing its aggressive growth strategy. By acquiring the majority in the Italian TOP GROUP, comprising FEAM, NUOVA ASP and FENEX, the BARTEC Group is further expanding its leading global position and is on track to achieve an annual turnover of EUR 400 million.

"This acquisition is a positive step that will further support the continuous growth of our group, as it will enable us to provide our customers with even more comprehensive turnkey solutions in the future," emphasises Dr. Ralf Köster, CEO of the BARTEC Group. To date, the acquisition of the Italian group of companies is the biggest in the almost forty years of history of the BARTEC company. This means that the BARTEC Group's turnover volume in the field of classical explosion protection – which includes control and connection equipment as well as automation and lighting technologies – will clearly exceed EUR 200 million by the end of the business year. As such, the high-tech company is also one of the top-three providers in this area of explosion protection. Furthermore, the BARTEC Group's range of products includes explosion-proof measurement and analytical technologies, electrical trace heating and electrical engineering for the mining industry.

The acquisition, which comes with innovative technologies such as LED lighting fixtures for use in hazardous areas, is the ideal complement to the BARTEC product portfolio. In addition, the product range will be expanded in the future to include complete solutions, produced in house, in the field of ex-protected aluminium and stainless steel junction boxes and electrical panels. TOP GROUP products and solutions have proven to be effective in plant revampings as well as standard applications, especially in growth markets such as the Middle East and the Asia Pacific region.

Heiko Laubheimer, CFO of the BARTEC Group, affirms: "Having the TOP GROUP on board will ideally round off our portfolio, enabling us to position ourselves as one of the leading global manufacturers of classic explosion protection." Enrico Abbo, CEO of FEAM, Fabio Lattanzio, CEO of NUOVA ASP and Dario Colaut, CEO of FENEX, confirm: "With BARTEC, we have found the perfect partner for our further positive development. BARTEC's global sales network provides the ideal conditions for marketing our products and solutions. This is a win-win situation for all parties and we look forward to working together in the future."