Munich — Gimv has the ambi­tion to build a group of instal­la­tion compa­nies and coope­ra­tes with Lenaerts/LVR and ABN Clima­tiza­tion. Toge­ther, they are seeking further acqui­si­ti­ons to create a leading company specia­li­zing in inte­gra­ted B2B multi-tech­no­logy projects.

Lenaerts/LVR and ABN Clima­tiza­tion form the foun­da­tion of the new group. Lenaerts/LVR (Houtha­len-Helch­te­ren — www.lenaertsnv.be, €16 million turno­ver, 45 employees) was foun­ded in 1981 and has become an estab­lished player in the world of indus­trial instal­la­tion, with a focus on elec­tri­cal engi­nee­ring. ABN Clima­tiza­tion (Muns­ter­bil­zen — www.abn.be, €11 million turno­ver, 47 employees) was foun­ded in 1996 and specia­li­zes in retail, office and indus­trial HVAC.

To realize the energy tran­si­tion, there is a growing need to make buil­dings more energy effi­ci­ent, elec­trify heating and mobi­lity, and imple­ment new tech­no­lo­gies and busi­ness models. In this context, there is room for a large instal­la­tion company that offers cross-tech­no­logy solu­ti­ons. Brin­ging toge­ther diffe­rent busi­nesses will enable acce­le­ra­ted invest­ment in digi­tiza­tion, auto­ma­tion and talent manage­ment to better serve custo­mers. The current owners of Lenaerts/LVR and ABN Clima­tiza­tion will reinvest in the new group and remain enga­ged in their respec­tive busi­nesses. They will actively support the further expan­sion of the instal­la­tion company. The group is led by Geert Fostier, who has previous buy-and-build expe­ri­ence in the sector.

Ilse Lenaerts, Mana­ging Direc­tor of Lenaerts & LVR, says: “We want to prepare our company for the fast-chan­ging future that lies ahead. Crea­ting syner­gies within this new group will provide tremen­dous oppor­tu­ni­ties for us and for future members of the group. This will also allow us to focus more on the resi­li­ence and well-being of the driving force in our busi­ness, our people.”

Rosa­line Wijnen & Jo Nelis­sen, foun­ders of ABN Clima­tiza­tion, state, “We stron­gly believe that ABN Clima­tiza­tion is guaran­teed sustainable growth with this inno­va­tive inte­gra­ted model that goes beyond HVAC alone. Gimv offers ABN Clima­tiza­tion the oppor­tu­nity to be at the fore­front of the energy tran­si­tion and deve­lop our inno­va­tive products in a broa­der context.”

Geert Fostier, CEO of the new group, added: “In the context of the energy tran­si­tion and incre­asing tech­no­lo­gi­cal comple­xity, custo­mers are looking for indus­trial part­ners who can offer an inte­gra­ted concept around elec­tri­cal engi­nee­ring and HVAC and take the burden off them comple­tely. We are plea­sed that with Lenaerts and ABN Clima­tiza­tion we have laid a promi­sing foun­da­tion for a new group that will enable us to successfully meet tomorrow’s social and tech­no­lo­gi­cal trends.”

Ruben Monbal­lieu (photo © Gimv), Sustainable Cities Part­ner at Gimv, summa­ri­zes: “We are convin­ced that we need strong multi-tech­no­logy instal­lers to realize the energy tran­si­tion. Lenaerts and ABN Clima­tiza­tion form a strong base for conso­li­da­tion in the frag­men­ted sector of tech­ni­cal instal­la­tion compa­nies. We have the ambi­tion to further expand this new group through addi­tio­nal acqui­si­ti­ons. We look forward to reali­zing this vision toge­ther with the manage­ment. In addi­tion, at Gimv Sustainable Cities, we can draw on our expe­ri­ence in Germany, where we are buil­ding an “e‑group.”

This new group will be part of Gimv’s Sustainable Cities plat­form, which focu­ses on B2B services and sustaina­bi­lity in various sectors. Climate change and urba­niza­tion are important drivers of busi­ness growth in these sectors.