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Portfolio Company News

2022-04-20

Blanchon, a leading European player in protective and decoration coatings and paints for the home improvement market, accelerates its international growth with the acquisition of RIGO in the Netherlands

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Lyon, April 20th 2022. Blanchon Group announces the acquisition of Rigo Verffabriek and Rigo Verfcentrum, a Dutch family-owned business (“the Company”, “the Group” or “RIGO”), specialising in the design and manufacturing of finishing products for wood and paints for heritage buildings, dedicated to professional customers.

This acquisition is part of the Blanchon Group strategy to accelerate its international growth and become a European leader in protection, maintenance, renovation and decoration of indoor and outdoor wood surfaces and vinyl flooring. With very strong product brands, including Skylt, Step, Royl, Toplin and Skyn combined with significant sales growth over the last decade, RIGO has become the market leader in the wooden floor segment in the Netherlands. The Company operates from Ijmuiden, Netherlands and this site will be added to the well-established European subsidiaries of Blanchon, to accelerate the group international business growth.

Leveraging on the complementary combination of the Blanchon and RIGO product lines and strong brands awareness, as well as on their respective client portfolios, this acquisition allows Blanchon Group to become the wooden floor market leader in The Netherlands for professionals. Further to the acquisition of Ciranova in June 2021, the Blanchon Group is fully established as the market leader in the Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg area, representing the largest region, next to France.

RIGO’s previous owners and top management will remain fully involved in the company and takes over the overall responsibility for the Benelux region, and have invested into the Blanchon group alongside with current shareholders.

Guillaume Clément, President and CEO of the Blanchon Group, said: “We are very pleased to welcome the talented RIGO team to Blanchon Group. The acquisition of RIGO is a perfect match. RIGO has family roots like Blanchon and a deep entrepreneurial spirit forged by three generations since 1938. RIGO’s product quality and brand reputation, combined with its strong expertise in flooring and furniture, are key success factors. Furthermore, RIGO has invested substantially in developing a sustainable product offering, which includes the iconic Toplin product range. We are now in a position to offer the largest wood care product offering, both for indoor and outdoor applications, under three complementary and highly recognised brands: RIGO, Blanchon and Ciranova. All products will be locally available in the Netherlands with the ambition to fully support our Dutch professional customers’ business growth.”

Toon Van Westerhoven, Co-owner of RIGO, said: “We are very pleased to join Blanchon Group as we share the same DNA and values. It is for this reason that myself and my brother, Machiel Van Westerhoven, decided to sell our shares to Blanchon. We have succeeded in building a strong brand in the Netherlands to date and it is now time to build a stronger company. By joining Blanchon Group, we can benefit from the combined knowledge, techniques and assets.”

Michael Van Westerhoven, Co-Owner of RIGO, added: “The acquisition will allow RIGO to expand into new market segments and countries while leveraging the Blanchon Group organisation and indeed, it will further strengthen RIGO’s position in the Benelux region. This is a great journey to embark on and a promising new chapter for our company.”

Contact Details:
Blanchon Group: Alexia Fleury – afleury@blanchon.com,
Rigo Verffabriek: Toon Van Westerhoven – toon@rigoverffabriek.nl

About Blanchon

Founded in 1832, Blanchon is a specialist in protective and decoration coatings for wood and vinyl substrates for indoor and outdoor applications. The group services more than 8000 customers globally with its brand ‘Syntilor’ - dedicated to DIY, ‘Blanchon’ and ‘Ciranova’ and ‘Carver’ - for professionals, and ‘Blanchon Industrie’ and ‘Ciranova Industrial Finishes’ - for flooring manufacturers. The group is recognized for its high quality and sustainable product offerings, and its local technical expertise to support customers. Blanchon group was first to launch in 2020 a complete wood care Bio-based product offering for professional and end-consumers. It operates through 7 subsidies in France, Belgium, Italy, Poland, UK, USA and China and employs approximatively 400 people. For more information, visit www.groupeblanchon.com

About RIGO Verffabriek

The Rigo Verffabriek Group is specialised in the development and production of finishing products for parquet, furniture and wood for more than 80 years, with a focus on professional segment in the Netherlands. It is a family company, run by the third generation Machiel Van Westerhoven and Toon Van Westerhoven, together with their partners Amanda and Henriette. The Group consists of a production and distribution company in the Netherlands, located in Ijmuiden, NL. It employs ~55 people, all based in the Netherlands. Rigo's values and culture are characterised by product quality, and innovation, and sustainable growth and strong customer relationships with high service level to craftsmen. 'Alles voor het meesterwerk' ('All for the masterpiece) is the company moto. For more information, visit www.rigoverffabriek.nl

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