Ahlsell Denmark acquires the industrial specialist KJV A/S
The highly specialized industrial supplier KJV A/S will become part of the Ahlsell group and will continue as an independent company with its own name and organization within Ahlsell Denmark, which consists of Sanistål, Ahlsell REF, and VVS-Trading.
Ahlsell Denmark has entered into an agreement to purchase KJV A/S, which is one of Denmark's leading suppliers of cutting tools, transmissions, tools, technical articles, machine tools, and automation solutions for companies primarily in the steel and machinery industries. The purchase is subject to the approval of competition authorities.
This acquisition is the first of its kind since Ahlsell Denmark took over Sanistål in February 2023 and delisted the company from Nasdaq Copenhagen. With KJV’s many years of experience and unique technical competencies, Ahlsell Denmark is expanding its core business within the industrial segment.
"We have a strategic ambition to grow in Denmark and become even more relevant in the market. The acquisition of KJV is an important step in this development, where we expand our core offering and will be able to provide industrial customers with a wider range of products and deeper professional expertise," says Claudio Christensen, CEO of Ahlsell Denmark.
KJV was founded in 1956 as Kurt Jørgensen Værktøj, is predominantly family-owned, and employs 110 staff across seven locations in Denmark, including an administrative headquarters and central warehouse in Odense. The company is well-managed with steady growth and an increasing level of activity over the years.
KJV will continue unchanged after the change of ownership, maintaining its name and organization, and the management, where brothers Henrik and Kristian Løftgaard share the director position, will also continue in the same manner
”With the Ahlsell group, we gain a long-term, ambitious, and strong owner who knows our competencies and understands the culture and our approach to customers. They will help us fully realize KJV's potential,” says CEO Henrik Løftgaard, complemented by co-director Kristian Løftgaard:
“We are looking forward to an exciting future where we will together identify new opportunities so that we can build on KJV's value proposition of enhancing customers' competitiveness and bottom line through forward-looking advisory, innovative products, and timely delivery.”
KJV is strong in the segment of small and medium-sized enterprises and currently services 6,500 industrial customers. The industrial supplier offers more than 65,000 products, delivered the next day from the central warehouse in Odense. Additionally, customers have access to over 200,000 products from KJV's online webshop, and the company ships more than 100,000 shipments a year.
Ahlsell Denmark expects to make several acquisitions in the coming years, says the CEO of Ahlsell Denmark, Claudio Christensen:
*“This spring, we established an independent M&A unit. It gives us focus and the opportunity to find the specific companies where we can make a difference and that can expand or supplement our existing business in Denmark as effectively as possible.”*
Before the acquisition of KJV, Ahlsell Denmark employed approximately 850 people across 3 business units:
- Sanistål: Supplier of a comprehensive service and product program for industry, construction, and other sectors, including metal, plumbing, fasteners, tools, technology, electrical, anchoring, chemicals, and personal equipment.
- Ahlsell REF: Supplier of complete solutions for direct and indirect cooling and heat pumps for a range of industries.
- VVS-Trading: Supplier of plumbing articles primarily for hardware stores and other retailers.
**Further information:**
Claudio Christensen, CEO of Ahlsell Denmark, can be contacted through Communications Manager Pia Kristensen, phone 96 30 60 00, mobile 41 17 86 17.
Kristian Løftgaard, Director of KJV, can be contacted at phone 20 66 77 22.
September 26, 2023