The company Nuova Defim, part of Italian steel group Feralpi, has acquired the Spanish company Saexpa, one of the biggest manufacturers of wires and tubes for the logistics industry. Specialising in automated shelving for vertical storage and other warehousing solutions, the buyer was most attracted by what Saexpa could offer in terms of the internationalisation, verticalisation and improvement of its business.

With two plants in Barcelona and Ripoll (Girona), Saexpa makes products for an industry in full swing, boosted by the continuous investment of multinationals in the logistics industry, which are adapting to modern distribution trends and the needs of ever-growing e-commerce.

Highly export-oriented
Saexpa was founded in 1985, has 77 employees and has steadily increased its market share in Europe over time, one of the main reasons it appealed to Nuova Defim. Highly export-oriented, it serves customers in around 30 countries and had a turnover of 16 million euros in 2021.

However, the agreement signed between the two companies will not only help the Italian company to develop internationally and verticalise its presence in the industry. It will also allow it to boost and optimise its industrial know-how, in synergy with the experience of Saexpa and its customised products and services.

Strengthening customer services
The Executive Director of the Feralpi Group and Chairman of Nuova Defim, Giovanni Pasini, explained, “With this move, the Feralpi Group is enhancing its own diversified product business unit in line with its industrial plan, which includes optimising product mix, maximising market share and strengthening customer services. Each of these three objectives are in line with the acquisition of Saexpa by Nuova Defim.”

For his part, Nuova Defim CEO, Alberto Messaggi, added, “With Saexpa we are taking a decisive step towards internationalisation with a seal of quality. Saexpa excels in its industry – logistics and shelving –and is a recognised leader in products and services. And that is not all. We can now expand our product range and achieve a stronger manufacturing structure that can also generate new business opportunities, through technical solutions in response to customer needs. Saexpa and Nuova Defim are quite similar because they are both very flexible, and work with a high level of customisation, and they will be able to rely on complementary, technologically advanced, high-capacity plant assets.”

For Saexpa founders, Jordi Poblet and Gregorio Royo, who will continue to be part of the company’s management team, “This transaction means looking ahead to the future.” Indeed, they emphasise that “Thanks to Nuova Defim and the Feralpi Group, Saexpa will now be stronger. The project we launched and developed has more energy to face new challenges.”

^{Photo: Nuova Defim}