14 November 2018
WEMAS Group continues to expand: The leading provider of active and passive road safety equipment acquires Landwehr Schilderfabrik
The Gütersloh based WEMAS Group has reached an agreement with the owner family of Landwehr GmbH Schilderfabrik to acquire all shares of the Gescher based company. The new subsidiary is the leading manufacturer of road signage in Germany. WEMAS is one of the leading suppliers of active and passive road safety technology. As majority owner, Paragon supports the continuous growth of the group. In June 2018 WEMAS has expanded into mobile, active road safety and stationary road technology through the acquisition of Gerding GmbH.
Landwehr was founded in 1974 by Klaus Landwehr. His son, Jan-Dirk Landwehr, has been Co-Managing Director since 1991 and leads the business alone since 1999. After completion of the transaction, he will continue to develop the business as managing director. Within over 40 years since foundation, Landwehr has developed into one of the most renowned manufacturers of road signage in Germany. The product range includes the necessary posts and masts, safety beacons and lights, as well as signage of any form and size.
“Landwehr is one of the most progressive road signage manufacturers in Germany and has gained a particular competitive advantage in recent years through strong investments in digital printing,” says WEMAS Managing Director Markus Schwinn. “We are delighted about this significant add-on acquisition to our group. Together we will leverage synergies and mutually benefit from our experience.”
WEMAS is a leading partner for wholesalers and road safety service providers, especially in road barrier technology such as protective barriers, delineators, base plates, warning lamps and road cones. At the end of 2017, the investment companies Gimv and Paragon jointly acquired a majority stake in WEMAS and started implementing a targeted growth strategy. This includes, inter alia, the expansion of the core business and the international business as well as the entry into adjacent markets of road safety. A few months after the investment, Gerding Verkehrstechnik GmbH, a specialist supplier of active road safety equipment in Germany, was integrated into the group.
“With the acquisition of Landwehr GmbH, we are consistently pursuing our buy-and-build strategy.” Sven Oleownik explains, Head of Gimv’s German investment activities. “The company has excellent contacts, including many municipal and state companies, and brings the important manufacturing expertise in road signage to the WEMAS group – WEMAS is thereby able to serve the increasing customer demand for integrated solutions from a single source even better.”
“Within a short period of time, we have reached a new milestone in the expansion of the WEMAS Group into a comprehensive, market-leading provider of road safety technology” says, Edin Hadzic, managing partner at Paragon. “The company’s portfolio should further continue to grow organically and inorganically and thus profit from the rapidly growing road safety market”, he adds.
About WEMAS:
WEMAS is the market leader in Germany for integrated, certified solutions of road barrier technology. Strategic business fields comprise intelligent traffic guidance systems/guidance, traffic signposting, construction site and workplace safety.
About Paragon
Paragon is one of the leading independent private equity firms in Europe with approx. €650 million of equity under management. Paragon works closely with portfolio companies to achieve sustainable growth and operational excellence. The investment portfolio covers various industries and currently comprises 11 companies. Paragon was founded in 2004 and is based in Munich, Germany. For further information please refer to www.paragon.de.