Marktlink accompanies business sale tomato hook wrapping company van den Wijngaart

Description

Family-owned tomato hook wrapping company van den Wijngaart (TvdW), one of the largest European players of wrapped tomato hooks, has sold its shares to industry partner Bato Plastics B.V. of Zevenbergen. The sale was accompanied by acquisition advisor Marktlink. Bato was assisted by parent company VADO.

At Tomatenhakenwikkelbedrijf van den Wijngaart (TvdW), custom-made wound tomato hooks are made which are used worldwide mainly in tomato cultivation. The company was founded in 1994 by Han and Jolanda van den Wijngaart and is located in Galder, North Brabant. Through a unique, efficient production system, TvdW is a top global player, producing nearly 30 million wrapped tomato hooks per year. This results in an estimated world market share of between 5 and 10%.

Stable business with loyal customer base

Under the leadership of the Van den Wijngaart family, the company has grown into a stable business with a loyal customer base. As one of the first in the market, the business capitalized on sustainability and was able to profitably incorporate bio rope into its products. Han van de Wijngaart: "This development is likely to grow significantly in the coming years. In addition, the demand for products has been increasing for some time and the question of production expansion came back more and more often. Because of the age of ourselves and the lack of succession within the family, we decided together with Marktlink to look for a strategic partner to continue the future of the business and the relationship with its customers."

Acquisition advisor Jan Dijkmans of Marktlink guided Han and Jolanda through the process. Within the SME takeover landscape, more than 25% of the transactions are international. Yet the buyer was now found 20 kilometers away. Dijkmans: "With competitors from Mexico, Poland and Israel, among others, it can be lucrative to steer toward an international transaction, but the family's wish was abundantly clear: there should be no negative changes to TvdW's customers and there had to be trust in the buyer. We often see in our acquisitions that money alone is not decisive in such a process."

New owner

The new owner is Bato Plastics B.V., a globally active horticultural supplier and specialist in plastic horticultural products. The combination of the two businesses has over fifty employees and achieves annual revenues of over EUR 25 million. The acquisition provides various synergies, as TvdW and Bato are only a few kilometers apart and have largely the same customers. This also makes a physical integration of TvdW a logical consequence.

Because both Bato and owner VADO are financially healthy parties, according to Bato director Gert-Jan Spierings, it is in line with expectations that TvdW will expand its production capacity step by step in the coming years, in order to respond even better to growing customer demand. In addition, TvdW can be introduced directly to Bato's other clients.

Han van den Wijngaart: "After almost 30 years, this is the time to take our business to the next phase and we are taking a step back. After overcoming the necessary hurdles, I am proud of the business we have built. For us, the customers who have been satisfied for years were very important to us. With VADO and Bato, we are confident that our business has a bright future."

Little will change for customers and suppliers: Han and Jolanda van den Wijngaart will remain involved in the integration, production and sales of the high-wire hooks within Bato in the coming period.