The French specialist in technical textiles buys its Italian counterpart NT Majocchi

ITALY / FRANCE. French specialist in technical textiles by lamination/laminating (combination of multiple substrates) Alpex Protection has acquired its Italian counterpart NT Majocchi. The company based in Saint-Chamond (15 km from Saint-Étienne) has just been bought out itself in October 2021 by the independent management company InnovaFonds, which now has a majority stake, its management, BNP Paris Développement and Celda Capital Développement (Caisse d'Épargne Loire Drôme Ardèche).

Founded in 1998, Alpex Protection had a turnover of €20 million in 2021 (75% of which was generated internationally). It is present in particular in the individual protection markets (armies, police, fire brigade, etc.), the luxury industry and "technical fashion" (sport). It has recently opened a subsidiary, in the form of a joint venture, in the United States.

As part of this transaction, InnovaFonds is reinvesting alongside the management of Alpex Protection and NT Majocchi, with their two partners from September 2021. "Acquisition debt has also been raised from the company's historical banking partners in order to complete the financing of the transaction," a statement said.

Founded in 1941 in Bobbiate, a district of the city of Varese in Lombardy, and now located in Tavernio (53 km north of Milan and 6 km from Como), NT Majocchi (€15m turnover) also manufactures technical textiles by lamination/laminating as well as by coating (application of a liquid coating to a textile substrate to make it waterproof or stain-resistant). A technology that adds a new skill to its purchaser.

"NT Majocchi has technological and commercial fundamentals that are extremely complementary to those of Alpex Protection. The acquisition will enable the group to consolidate its position as an independent European leader, with a turnover of €35 million", commented Anthony Dubut and Olivier Richard, respectively Chairman and Managing Partner of InnovaFonds.

"This particularly structuring operation (...) will enable the implementation of significant operational synergies, particularly in terms of innovation, production and marketing," emphasise Hervé Tiberghien and Laurent Cogez, directors of Alpex Protection, with Andrea Terracini, director of NT Majocchi. The Italian company has, for example, supplied the innovative nylon fabric that covers the famous Moon Boot, the après-ski boots developed in the 1970s by its compatriot Tecnica.