Maes will become the Belgian subsidiary of Babcock Wanson and will continue to be managed and developed by its founders. With 35-years of experience and more than 300 installations completed, Maes is an expert in the maintenance and installation of steam and thermal fluid boilers. The company generated €7 million of sales in 2019 and employs around 20 technicians.
Since its spin-off from CNIM group in 2016, Babcock Wanson has been supported by FCDE to develop further as a group through organic and external growth, in particular in the services business.
The first successful acquisition that FCDE supported was Reputabel Warmtetechniek in the Netherlands in 2017. This allowed Babcock Wanson to further extend its geographical footprint and consolidated its leading position in the European market of medium-power industrial boilers, while positioning its product mix more towards services. In 2019, the group generated €106m in sales and despite the current pandemic, the group’s activity remains strong. This is driven by the dynamics of its large customer base which is focused in the food and pharmaceutical industries.
With this acquisition, Babcock Wanson is strengthening its position in Europe and its strategy of proximity in the deployment of its service activities.The group is also in advanced discussions with several other European companies in the maintenance, repair and rental of industrial boilers.
Cyril Fournier-Montgieux, CEO of Babcock Wanson declared: “The acquisition of a dynamic company such as Maes is a great opportunity to establish our direct presence in the Belgian market in order to better deploy the distribution of all our products and associated services. For Maes and its team, this is also the opportunity to rely on a market leader and thus consolidate their position in their territory.”
Julien Di Marco, Partner and Member of the Executive Board of FCDE added: “Having put on hold the execution of its external growth strategy during lockdown, the Babcock Wanson group, supported by FCDE, is accelerating its ambition to consolidate the servicing of industrial boilers in a still highly fragmented European market and further strengthens its position as a key player in energy transition.”