Bruynzeel, the European market leader in mobile storage systems, has attracted Gilde Equity Management as new majority shareholder. With the new shareholder Bruynzeel will execute their growth strategy in various international markets. The transaction is made for an undisclosed consideration and will be concluded after approval by the antitrust authorities. Bruynzeel booked revenues of around € 60 million last year and aims to grow to more than € 100 million in 2026, partly as a result of the strong growing international demand for space creating solutions and by adding new innovative solutions to its product offering.

Next growth phase

Bruynzeel, with head office in the Netherlands, provides space creating storage solutions for the storage of a wide variety of objects. It helps organizations worldwide to use space in the most efficient, sustainable and effective way to preserve their valuable collections, documents and inventory. Gilde Equity Management and Bruynzeel both see strong demand for space creating solutions.

Alexander Collot d’Escury, CEO of Bruynzeel comments: “We are proud to be able to join forces with Gilde. They will help us to accelerate our growth and seize the enormous international market opportunities for space saving solutions. Gilde has an impressive track record in creating value with medium sized companies with strong market positions. We are very pleased that with this step, Bruynzeel is now, after more than 30 years, back in Dutch hands. I would like to thank our former shareholder Altor Equity Partners. They played an important role in establishing our position as European market leader in various segments.”

Pål Stampe, Partner at Altor Equity Partners and Chairman of Bruynzeel added: “We have had a long journey together, and seen a very positive development in recent years. Led by today’s strong management team, we believe that Gilde Equity Management is the right owner for the next growth phase.”

Bas Glas of Gilde Equity Management adds: “We are delighted to support Bruynzeel executing their already successful growth strategy. We are impressed with their strong performance this year. As an investor we recognize the growing importance of space creating storage solutions. We think our partnership represents an attractive opportunity given Bruynzeel’s superior technical knowledge and capacity for innovation. As European market leader in various international storage markets we will support them expanding their product platform and seizing the growth opportunities in Europe and abroad.”

Growth strategy

With the support of Gilde Bruynzeel will accelerate the execution of its international growth strategy by further gaining market share, growing through geographical expansion, by developing new promising segments and be leading in sustainability. Besides autonomous growth, acquisitions in key geographies and segments are part of the growth strategy. In February 2021, Bruynzeel acquired the American distributor RDT Concepts. This partnership gives Bruynzeel more commercial opportunities on the American market, which is the largest market in storage solutions in the world.

Growing number of segments

Bruynzeel is the market leader in the European market for intelligent and space saving storage systems in the archive, library and museum segment and is also growing rapidly in storage solutions in pharma, horticulture, industry, retail, urban farming and hospitals. In addition, many organisations are looking for ways to increase their inventory levels. Due to the current Covid-19 crisis and global supply chain disruptions, deliveries of crucial parts in many industries are delayed, often resulting in costly production losses.

About Gilde Equity Management

Gilde Equity Management (GEM) is an independent private equity firm with €1.5 billion in committed capital. With roots dating back to 1982, GEM is a leading investor in medium-sized companies and has helped many of them to realize international growth.

Examples of GEM investments include: Dunlop, a leading manufacturer of safety boots for industrial applications; Fruityline, a fast-growing producer of freshly squeezed premium fruit and vegetable juices and smoothies; Wasco, a technical wholesaler active in the area of heating, ventilation, air conditioning and sanitary facilities; Actief Interim, one of the biggest independent employment agencies in Benelux and Germany serving the SME sector; Eiffel, a consultancy firm with expertise in Legal, Finance and Process; and Kwantum & Leen Bakker, home-furnishing and decoration retailers in the Benelux.

About Bruynzeel

Bruynzeel is the market leader in the European market for intelligent and space saving storage systems in the archive, library and museum segments and is also growing rapidly in storage solutions in pharma, horticulture, industry, retail, urban farming and hospitals. Each Bruynzeel storage solution is designed and based on the client’s specific needs.

Bruynzeel was founded in 1953 as part of the Bruynzeel group that grew into bathrooms, doors, cabinets, kitchens, floors and pencils. Bruynzeel Storage Systems has been privatized since the 1980s. With its ‘best-in-class’ production process, it is able to realize storage systems with high-quality design and quality within the fastest production and delivery times.

In addition to its own offices in Europe and the United States, the company operates through an extensive network of distributors in Africa, the Middle East, Latin America, North America, Australia and Asia. All systems are produced in the factory in Panningen, the Netherlands. The company has more than 200 employees and often collaborates with architects and designers to design custom-made mobile and fixed storage systems for each application.