PRIMEPULSE continues its success story

“I look forward and rarely look back,” says PRIMEPULSE Co-Founder and CEO Klaus Weinmann with the presentation of the 2019 annual report and great ambitions for the future of the PRIMEPULSE Group. “The successful development in the past financial year puts us in a comfortable position to continue our growth in the current year. “

The technology-oriented group of companies continued its success story in 2019 and consistently implemented the intended focus within its portfolio on technology-driven medium-sized companies. Thus, the promising areas of Machine Vision, Electronics and Digital Solutions were expanded through acquisitions, among other things, while at the same time releasing liquidity from real estate and share sales. “The bottom line is that we thus restructured a third of our portfolio last year and built up cash to create financial strength for further acquisitions in the Technology environment,” says the PRIMEPULSE CEO. Klaus Weinmann emphasizes: “My thanks go to all employees of the PRIMEPULSE Group as well as to our customers and business partners.”

Three key investment criteria

In implementing its ambitious growth strategy, several companies and investments were acquired in the PRIMEPULSE Group in the 2019 financial year. KATEK SE, one of the leading electronics service providers in Germany and Europe, significantly strengthened its market position through the acquisition of bebro Group, from which today’s KATEK Frickenhausen as well as the companies beflex and eSystems originate. In addition, the Vision Technology division, which comprises the activities of STEMMER IMAGING AG, was expanded with the acquisition of the Spanish company Infaimon. The newly established Digital Solutions division was also strengthened, gaining valuable expertise in the SAP/Microsoft cloud environment with ExactlyIT and GAB in addition to the existing investments Unify Square and Polecat. In addition, with the investment in Mindcurv, another promising company will complement the digital transformation know-how of the PRIMEPULSE Group.

“The 2019 financial year was dominated by our buy-build-and-develop strategy, which we will continue in 2020. This is demonstrated by our new acquisition in the Digital Solutions segment: Glück & Kanja and GAB are now merging under glueckkanja-gab to form a cloud managed service provider,” says Klaus Weinmann. PRIMEPULSE is constantly looking for and evaluating new acquisition opportunities that meet three criteria: First, the companies must have positive earnings and cash flow. Second, they have a motivated team on board. And thirdly, the appropriate entry or purchase price offers reasonable development and value enhancement potential. Klaus Weinmann knows: “You must never lose sight of these three points. This is how we have successfully managed our companies, such as CANCOM, for more than 25 years.”

Start Future

Companies are facing major challenges. The Corona pandemic has hit the German economy hard and triggered a digitalization surge practically overnight. “I see this as an opportunity for digitization in the SME sector, from which our Technology division can benefit,” says the PRIMEPULSE CEO.

Business in the Electronics segment is driven more than ever by trends such as IoT (Internet of Things) and embedded computing as well as the rapid development of new technologies. At the same time, the market for Machine Vision, a key technology in the context of the digitalization of industrial manufacturing processes, is also strongly driven by topics such as Industry 4.0, Industrial Automation and Industrial IoT. Modern workplace concepts and mobile, flexible business communication and collaboration are driving the use of cloud-based communication and collaboration tools as well as digital platforms and services.

Digitalization also offers promising opportunities in PRIMEPULSE’s traditional Industry division, which comprises the Air Technology, Gardentech and Automotive business. For example, the AL-KO Aircloud, a design program provided as cloud services, which is used for the real-time configuration of individual devices and applications already in the planning period of a construction project. AL-KO Gardentech is working on topics related to smart gardening, while Automotive is focusing on the topic of e-mobility, which is already a focal point of new projects.

As an entrepreneur, Klaus Weinmann has weathered every business downturn over many decades and never regretted adapting quickly and decisively to changing circumstances. This crisis has again made it clear to him that agility, flexibility and speed are extremely important in order to secure the balance sheet and financial strength of the company. He encourages to see and seize the opportunities of the crisis above all. Thus, the PRIMEPULSE Group has launched a joint initiative under the motto “START FUTURE”, which aims to motivate people to set out and join in.

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