April-May 2021

NEWS Hydro Holding S.p.A. (‘HH’, or the ‘Group’), the European independent manufacturer of mission-critical hydraulic components for construction & mining, agriculture, and industrial sector, has acquired Hydraulic Professional Service S.R.L. (‘HPS’). Founded in 2012 and headquartered in Romania, HPS is a specialised provider of hydraulic solutions in Eastern Europe, who rapidly evolved from the overhaul of pumps and the maintenance of hydraulic components to integrated hydraulic solutions, focusing on high quality and service. HPS operates through the brand Hydraulic Center Group (‘HCG’) and serves clients across multiple sectors including industrial, agriculture, mining, marine, energy and metallurgy. HCG employs 14 FTEs and is expected to reach ca. € 4 million revenue in 2021. Important step forward Mario Cerase, CEO of Hydro Holding, comments: “This is an important step forward to our international growth strategy. The acquisition of HPS represents for Hydro Holding a very interesting investment opportunity in a fast-growing market, leveraging on a strong customer- centric approach coupled with constant focus on quality and high level of service. We strongly believe that, as part of Hydro Holding, HPS will develop from a reference player in the Romanian hydraulic market to a platform capable to further expand in other Eastern European countries. We are also very happy to welcome HPS’s founder Mr. Mihai Zait as shareholder of Hydro Holding, confirming that our Group represents a very attractive investment proposition in the European hydraulic market.” Mihai Zait, CEO of HPS, adds: “We are truly excited about this opportunity and we believe that Hydro Holding is the right partner for HPS, its management team and employees. We look forward to contributing to the development of the Group.” Hydro Holding is a company controlled by NB Renaissance Partners (‘NBRP’), Neuberger Berman’s private equity investment fund in Italy, and is the result of the strategic combination of four leading Italian producers of hydraulic components: Tieffe, engaged in the production of carbon steel fittings; FB Hydraulic, specialised in the manufacturing of hose fittings; MCS Hydraulics, engaged in the production of stainless steel fittings, and Raccorfer, a cold forming technology specialist. Value creation The acquisition of HPS is another important step in Hydro Holding’s value creation process, which adds to several strategic initiatives executed since the entry of NBRP. In particular, Hydro Holding made significant progress towards the creation of one single group, by completing the merger of all operating companies into a single company and implementing a new state-of-the-art ERP system across all business units. Moreover, the Group kept on investing in production capacity and technology upgrade, while working on the industrial optimisation by specialising production plants. Furthermore, the management team of the Group have been reorganised and strengthened, with the addition of several senior professionals including Mr. Giovanni Pozzi (former CEO of Parker Italy) as chairman, Mr. Mirko Messera (former CFO of Assa Abloy Italy) as CFO and Mr. Giovanni Lupi (former global business development manager at Faster Group) as business development director. Hydro Holding is constantly working to apply best practices in terms of Environmental, Social and Governance (‘ESG’). The Group records one of the highest female employment rate in the sector (~40%), have HSE managers focused on improving the workplace safety systems and publishes an Annual Sustainability Report. Hydro Holding adopts a protocol compliant to the Italian legislative decree 231/01 on corporate liability, which ensures that the highest standards set by Italian law are respected, favouring the rigour, transparency and sense of responsibility in internal and external relations. Continued growth Mick Emery, managing director of EvoFluid Hydraulics UK, comments: “This acquisition reinforces the continued growth of the company. It’s extremely satisfying to see that our company model is continuing even through these uncertain times. HPS looks like an exciting addition to the group, and we look forward to working together in the future. The growth of Hydro Holding I feel will continue in this positive way, which will be beneficial not only for Hydro Holding and all subsidiaries but also for all associated customers.” Hydro Holding has been assisted by Deloitte (financial, legal, accounting and tax advisor) and Studio Gatti Pavesi Bianchi Ludovici (legal advisor). Hydraulic Professional Service was assisted by Mr. Cristian Popa (legal advisor). Hydro Holding acquires Hydraulic Professional Service 6 HYDRAULICS & PNEUMATICS April/May 2021 www.hpmag.co.uk