KATEK enters into a strategic partnership with Huf and acquires electronics production in Düsseldorf

Reinforcement on the way to becoming a European market leader and expansion of the footprint in the automotive sector

Munich- The electronics service provider KATEK, a portfolio company of PRIMEPULSE SE, will take over the SMT production of the Huf Group in Düsseldorf. The location thus complements the rapidly growing group of companies with its existing German units in Grassau, Memmingen, Mauerstetten, Frickenhausen and Wendlingen as well as the units in Bulgaria, Hungary and Czech Republic.

The new KATEK Düsseldorf unit will employ the current 152 employees, who will be taken over with the SMT production lines and the associated service and administrative functions. Huf will continue to purchase printed circuit boards, control units and other preliminary products for door handle electronics, kick sensors and other locking and access systems from KATEK Düsseldorf.

Agreement on close strategic partnership

“The acquisition of Huf’s SMT production in Düsseldorf is another milestone in our expansion strategy. We welcome the employees of this division to the new unit as part of our fleet of speedboats. The excellent production facilities and above all the know-how of our employees are a good addition to our production network, which is geared towards proximity to our customers,” says KATEK CEO Rainer Koppitz, explaining the investment. “We will quickly integrate the new unit into our group of companies and in the medium term not only supply automotive customers such as Huf with our high-tech components, but also use these capacities for our other customers in telecommunications, medical technology and metrology. By working across industries, we make ourselves independent of market fluctuations and can further expand our product and customer portfolio in a targeted manner. Thanks to increased capacity utilization and the resulting synergies, for example in purchasing, we see sustainable prospects for this location,” says Koppitz.

KATEK is the Electronics division of the technology-oriented PRIMEPULSE group of companies based in Munich, Germany. Klaus Weinmann, CEO of KATEK’s majority shareholder PRIMEPULSE SE: “The expansion of production capacities at the Düsseldorf location is a further step for the KATEK Group on its way to becoming one of the leading European service providers in the electronics sector. We will participate in the significant growth in professional IoT applications as a long-term, reliable and innovative electronics partner to the European industry”.

“With the KATEK Group, we have found an efficient partner for our SMT production at the Düsseldorf location, which will achieve synergies in areas such as purchasing and technology in conjunction with the other members of the group. We welcome this solution to the advantage of our employees and customers,” says Huf CEO Tom Graf.

Completion of the transaction is currently still subject to approval by the relevant antitrust authorities and is expected to be finalized by February 2020. The parties have agreed not to disclose the purchase price.

About KATEK

The internationally active KATEK Group is one of the leading electronics service providers in Europe. With around 2,300 employees at locations in Germany and Eastern Europe, the KATEK Group achieves sales of around 350 million euros. The range of services covers the entire life cycle of electronic assemblies and devices from development, material and project management, electronics production, box-build, testing technology and logistics to after-sales service – from small series/prototypes to large series and for all industries. More at www.katek-group.de

About PRIMEPULSE

PRIMEPULSE is a dynamically growing investment holding company based in Munich. The focus is on technology-oriented companies in promising markets. The PRIMEPULSE portfolio covers topics such as Industry 4.0, Automation and Internet of Things (IoT & Cloud). The group of companies has an annual turnover of around one billion euros and employs over 5,000 people worldwide. PRIMEPULSE pursues a long-term, value-oriented investment approach and sees itself as a strategic partner of its group companies, actively supporting them in their growth ambitions and digital transformation. Behind PRIMEPULSE are Klaus Weinmann, Raymond Kober and Stefan Kober, the founders of MDAX-listed CANCOM SE. More at www.primepulse.de