Marc Plomp was appointed general manager of DKAT, but had to start a sales process after only six weeks. The high-tech company was sold within a year, and Plomp then went to work as an acquisition advisor at Indus. "I already said to my wife: this is kind of cool to do.
After a long career as a partner at PwC, Marc Plomp wanted something other than working sixty hours a week. He had just turned 50 and decided to quit the accounting and consulting firm. Because of his experience advising many SME entrepreneurs and family businesses in the Northern Netherlands, a new challenge soon came his way.
The shareholder of DKAT - which stands for De Koningh Advanced Technology - knocked on his door to take over as general manager of the technology company. Plomp accepted the invitation, despite the fact that the business is not based in the north of our country, but in Arnhem. "I thought it was such a great business that I decided to be in Arnhem for a few days and work the rest from my hometown of Leeuwarden," Plomp explains.
Freedom of movement
DKAT constructs and assembles parts and sub-assemblies into total solutions for the semiconductor and medical sectors; from single (spare) parts to complete systems, with a focus on high-tech solutions. Currently, the Arnhem-based business supplies the semiconductor industry, laboratories and medical equipment manufacturers. The company has knowledge and experience in engineering, production, assembly, testing and certification.
Biggest achievement under Plomp's leadership has been setting up structural innovation within DKAT: improving prosthetics, in cooperation with a hospital and a supplier is one example. By freeing up technical people for product innovation, it has succeeded in greatly improving the functionality of prostheses. 'Previously, for example, a prosthesis consisted of an arm that can move one-dimensionally and an artificial hand, in which only the thumb and index finger can move,' Plomp said. 'Through the product innovation, a system has been developed where multiple movement is possible.'
Plomp had only been at DKAT for six weeks when the shareholder (77 years old) informed him that he actually wanted to sell his business. Because of the distance between Arnhem and Leeuwarden, it was not an option for Plomp to buy the business himself. It was then decided to start a sales process together with takeover consultancy firm Indus.
No sales department
Getting the business ready for sale was a big job. Inside the building - after replacing a number of machines - everything was state-of-the-art, but the appearance on the outside of the building contrasted sharply. A number of operational processes were further professionalized and the IT systems were updated to cloud-based solutions. Plomp addressed all these issues in order to be more attractive to a buyer.
'But the biggest gain was literally in setting up a sales department,' Plomp explains. 'This company's products are so well known in the business that a sales department was never needed. But when there was a professional sales funnel with a sales representative, the number of customers increased significantly and revenue quadrupled.'
Meanwhile, Joost Jochems of Indus put DKAT's anonymous sales profile on Brookz and responses poured in. One of the interested parties was a shareholder of Conbit High Tech from Eindhoven. This business - active in engineering, procurement, construction, installation and maintenance of, for example, offshore crane installations and telephone masts - was not looking for a takeover target. But DKAT's product range seemed such a natural complement that six months later in December 2022, the deal was complete.
Rating
A month later, Plomp received a call from Jochems of Indus. Whether he did not want to join the seven partners to work as an acquisition consultant. Plomp: "I already said to my wife during the DKAT sales process: this is a cool thing to do. So when Joost called, it was actually a logical continuation of my career. Especially the freedom we have at Indus was a prerequisite for me. So I was asked to be stage manager of De Tocht, a musical about the Elfstedentocht. That freedom is there.'
Indus assists entrepreneurs in buying and selling businesses throughout the Netherlands. They focus on SME businesses with revenues starting at roughly 1 million euros in various industries and sectors. For example, in recent years they have assisted entrepreneurs with businesses in construction, manufacturing, wholesale, retail, recreation, healthcare, business services and ICT.
Finally, Plomp emphasizes the importance of getting your business ready for sale, something he experienced in practice at DKAT. 'Most entrepreneurs are busy doing business,' Plomp explains. 'Logical. But getting your business ready for sale in the best possible way is so important for the value of your business. Joost of Indus told me at the time that without all those actions of sales preparation, the multiple would have been about 3 to 4 times EBITDA. In the end, the value turned out to be about 5.5 times EBITDA. That really is a substantial difference, so definitely worth investing time and money in it early on as an entrepreneur.
