Leading Israeli pipe manufacturer, Huliot A.C.S. Ltd. announced the acquisition of the activities and assets of Slovenian manufacturer Argo d.o.o. in Horjul Slovenia.
KWD-globalpipe, 30.04.2014. The transaction was concluded in April, for an undisclosed sum, between Huliot and Argo which is currently owned by Slovenia’s largest bank, NLB and two other minority shareholders, since a financial restructuring two years ago. Huliot C.E.O., Paul Steiner said “this acquisition reflects not only our belief in the factory and in its staff of loyal and dedicated employees, but also of our confidence in the strength of European economic recovery, and our belief that our key target markets will begin to rebound strongly from the second half of this year”.
According to Huliot’s V.P. Operations, Peleg Zamir, it will take nearly four months to bring the Horjul factory to the same quality levels and product specifications that have made Huliot a quality benchmark in its traditional markets. The transition effort is being supported by significant investments in additional equipment, and Huliot will begin implementing a staff training program from the middle of May. The Horjul plant will be managed by Orit Schlesinger, who will relocate to Ljubljana to take up the position. She has over two decades of manufacturing experience with Huliot.
The plant at Horjul will bring significant logistical improvements to Huliot, who currently sell into European markets from Israel. “In addition to supporting Huliot brand sales with pipe manufacturing closer to our customers, we are very happy to add a healthy and respectable customer base under Argo brand, which we shall continue to market domestically in Slovenia”, says Ariel Apeloig, V.P. Marketing & Sales. It is known that apart from dominating the Slovenian market in its categories, the factory exports to over 10 countries in Europe and several others beyond Europe.
Argo was known for its Polypropylene drainage systems including triple layer pipes, and this is seen as a perfect fit for Huliot which specializes in acoustic (low-noise) drainage, and has very successfully introduced its UltraSilent™ drainage system into European markets over the past two years.
Acquisition / PP drainage systems