c-temalp · 2019-03-18 · services it offers its customers. the limited liability company has 20...

1

C-TEMAlp

Continuity of Traditional Enterprises in Mountain Alpine Space areas

Pilot Cases Report

WPT43

December 2018

2

BT ndash Success case

Project partners Unioncamere del Veneto

Countries Italy ndash AustriaGermany

Regions Padua Treviso

Voestalpine is a Austrian-German industrial group of the most important in the world in the steel sector and in particular the processing of steel It has 48500 employees and operates more than 500 companies in fifty countries spread across five continents Despite the great efforts and the means available for research and development of innovative technologies with high added value - a vital factor in resisting the global competition - in the years 2014 and 2015 it held more convenient compared to the autonomous development of specific products and technologies acquiring two Venetian companies that already had access to them Trafilerie Spa Cittadella (In the province of Padua) and Trafilerie Industrial SpA (In the province of Treviso) These companies had in fact reached with their products highly advanced technological levels

The knowledge of the two Italian companies (both controlled by a family shareholding) and their shareholders as competitors or suppliers in special niche markets has certainly favored the choice of the Austrian-German group to invest in them rather than limited to the mere acquisition of their technology but this business decision was also supported by the knowledge and the recognition that the country there were the most favorable environmental conditions to maintain and indeed develop the productive activities that the technology applied

3

From the point of view of the Italian companies the investment by Voestalpine has assured them in a time of crisis in the sector the financial strength to continue with the research and development necessary to enable the products which they themselves had developed and to express their potential In both cases production has been doubled in less than three years and in one the local share ownership remained fully operational in the company while also maintaining a minority share of the capital to the mutual satisfaction of the Italian and the Austrian-German part

4



Countries Italy ndash France

Regions Veneto

The Calzaturificio Rossimoda SpA was among the first companies to establish relations with the greats firms of French luxury for the production of womens shoes For decades high fashion shoes - not only for the market but also for special customers or parades - brands such as Dior Fendi and Yves Saint-Laurent were produced in the Riviera del Brenta from the shoe factory Rossimoda SpA to the mutual satisfaction of the great French fashion houses and the Venetian manufacturer which operated as a licensee of the marks

When the luxury market has seen the phenomenon of the concentration of the label within a few large groups operating on a global scale there has been the tendency to switch to the direct production of accessories (including footwear) and then the abandonment of the practice to entrust it to a third party (to which the mark was licensed) In the case of highly crafted creations this industrial choice could only be implemented through the acquisition of companies already operating in the area and that they had within them adequate know-how and organizational skills experience since these valuable resources are difficult to be exported in another company Calzaturificio Rossi SpA which was the most known and renowned shoe manufacturer in France has been selected by Luis Vuitton to take care of the production of high-fashion shoes After the acquisition in 2001 the production developed considerably so much so that in a few years has more than doubled This is a great example of perfect complementarity where excellent manufacturing capabilities have joined forces and powerful commercial facilities of world-renowned brands with real benefits not only for entrepreneurs directly involved but also in general for the territory thanks to the positive effects that an active economy brings

5

C-TEMAlp ndash Pilot case


Countries Italy - Germany

Regions Veneto - Bavaria

Description of the company

The Association of the Chambers of Commerce of the Veneto Region ndash Eurosportello del

Veneto organised a preliminary site visit to the benefit of regional potential sellers in the

tourism sector with the involvement of a pool of intermediary expert representing

Bavarian (Germany) interested potential buyers

The preliminary meeting aimed

- to visit one of the touristic structure promoted through the business-transfer platform

(seller) with the aim of creating an handout in German Language to be proposed to German

investors

- to define next steps to match the interest of the German investors

- to organise a study visit in Italy for German investors supported by an intermediary

German organisation called Deutsche Vermogensberatung

- to discuss the possible role of other intermediaries for the transfer of ownership of the

enterprise

6

Description of the output

After the site visit the experts collected relevant information about the selling company

The decision process in terms of investment attractiveness and potentiality passed

through the analysis of the local surrounding eco system in terms of tourism potential

and the company itself

The piloting action is still ongoing because of the need to better deepening the analysis

especially in relation to the state of use of the building and financial aspects of the

operation

7


Project partners Handelskammer Bozen Camera di commercio di Bolzano


Regions South Tyrol - Bavaria


German company in the food sector The entrepreneurs would like to retire and sell as

profitably as possible It is very important to them that their competitors do not hear

about their sales wishes

Description of the buyer

Since 1996 Chamber of Commerce of Bolzano has been assisting selected producers in

the marketing and sale of their qualities Located primarily in the agency business CCIAA

BOLZANO acts as an extended arm of the producer and looks after markets with a

German-speaking background such as DACH as well as the BeNeLux area Short paths

from the customer directly to the producer are very important

However personal contact is never disregarded so there will be no customer whom the

sales managers of Chamber of Commerce of Bolzano have not personally known and

appreciated

8

Founded in 1996 Chamber of Commerce of Bolzano has been proposing since its birth as a

link between two worlds that of Italian producers of food specialties and that of foreign

retailers operating in their areas of expertise

All this with the constant awareness of the values that the company embodies and the

services it offers its customers

The limited liability company has 20 employees and a turnover of 500000 ndash 5000000

Euro

Chamber of Commerce of Bolzano wants to enlarge and buy an interesting company in

the south of Germany and searches for retailers and wholesalers in the food and beverage

sector

Description of the C-TEMAlp services delivered

Basic services

bull Delivery of Information packages

bull Fix appointment for a first meeting with experts

bull Information on local dedicated workshopsevents

bull First Orientation meeting in the office

bull Participation to a first meeting free of charge between the company and the experts and follow up activity

bull Buyers profiling (using buyers platform template)

bull Matchmaking between Buyers amp Sellers use of transnational platform or contacts Advanced services

bull Specialised business transfer consulting services


Unfortunately only a limited amount of information could be obtained in the platform about the company to buy as well as a limited amount of information could be given by the German project partner - due to the confidentiality requirement of the German company We therefore contacted the company and together with the German companys consultant we tried to receive more information via e-mail However these did not turn out to the satisfaction of the Italian company In addition a meeting was organized in Bolzano on 28022018 in which the Italian company participated with our service consultant and the consultant of the German company While the Italian company wanted to speed up the negotiations because of the serious interest involved the German company kept a low profile and proceeded very cautiously and slowly

It was then decided to continue sharing information by e-mail So far the process is ongoing

9

Lessons Learned

It could be that the German entrepreneurs had offers from other buyers and needed time to decide

A minimum of anonymous initial information must be given It goes without saying that

the identity and seriousness of the buyer should be checked but as soon as this is given

the requested information would have to be provided bit by bit Otherwise the

relationship and level of information between the two entrepreneurs is very unbalanced

and prevents a trusting negotiation

10


Project partners CCIAA BOLZANO-ITALCAM


Regions South Tyrol-Baviera


A small company in San Candido was active in sledge sport and has been producing sledges since 1983 The owner has been a successful luge racer and has incorporated his experience into a successful technology

Now he wants to sell his company and retire and is looking for a buyer

Over the years the company has built reliable partners and now several parts are manufactured by third parties The company has 2 employees Unfortunately turnover has fallen in recent years from 400000 euros to 50000 Euro

The company manufactures sledges recreational sledges and sells the appropriate accessories


The potential buyer has a small business a one-man company that is active in the medical insurance field He wants to change his career and has been looking for an entrepreneur in another industry He is very interested in sports and loves the alpine

11

region and can also imagine moving in order to buy run and live a different kind of business elsewhere in the alpine region


For the seller Basic services






bull First consultation to evaluate the company in order to assess the capacity to be proposed for a possible business transfer process

bull Sellers publishing service (using sellers platform template) X Matchmaking between Buyers amp Sellers use of transnational platform or contacts Advanced services

bull Specialized business transfer consulting services

bull Business plan and investment strategies review

bull Support for the creation of a Business Transfer Plan

bull Price Management (for sellers)

bull Succession Planning (from start-up consulting to law and fiscal services) For the buyer Basic services





Advanced services


bull Business-plan and investment strategies review


bull Succession Planning (from start-up consulting to law and fiscal services)


Through the service the two companies take advantage of a specialist consultation with

an expert to plan the handover strategy and determine the value of the company On

10102018 both partners have participated in the conference Business Transfer in the

Alpine Space which has been organized as part of C-TEMAlp and got more information

The buyer is interested in a quick takeover even if the effective enterprise value is currently not high would like to achieve a high selling price otherwise he wont sell it At this moment the buyer offered a realistic price compared to the turnover but the expectations of the seller are 5 times more

12

Within October the partners want to get an agreement on the enterprise value and a right price for the company

There are several critical factors in this case The company is very small and sales have

been reversed in recent years In addition the headquarters in San Candido is outside the

urban conurbations and rather uninteresting for a foreign investor A concrete possibility

would be to sell the company to a competitor who is interested in the know-how rather

than looking for an entrepreneurial successor If the seller expects too long it will be

more and more difficult for him to find a good buyer

While we thought that this kind of company (with a fallen turnover) was not suitable for

the C-TEMAlp database we discovered that there were effectively interested buyers

13


Project partners Innovation Region Styria ITALCAM

Countries Austria - Germany

Regions Styria - Bavaria


Wood construction company

A successful Syrian wood construction company is looking for a buyer Suitable for wood

construction technician carpenter or construction engineer

The product range includes Austrian quality products made of Woods An international

distribution Network and numerous registered customers are available

Type of company SME Sector Handcraft Establishment 1960 Employees 20 Turnover euro 2000000


First contact with ITALCAM in December 2017 No information of potential German buyer

was available because first contacts took place exclusively between Chamber of

Commerce in StyriaFollow me and the C-TEMAlp expert Mr Baumer (representative of

interested German buyer) First steps have been focusing on the clarification of

confidential issues and preparation of declaration of confidentiality agreements

14


The first contact with ITALCAM was made in December 2017 The negotiation was

performed among the two experts (Germany-Austria)


The German interested buyer was already in contact with another company in Southern

Bavaria His focus is currently on the national company

At present therefore the deal among the identified German buyer no longer continue

Nonetheless IRS and ITALCAM are in contact to look for other alternative solutions

15


Project partners Innovation Region Styria Regional Chamber of Craft and Small

Business Maribor

Countries Austria - Slovenia

Regions Styria - SloveniaPodravje









Investor

1 Financial consulting and mediation

The service provided companies with all the support in the field of financing help to

obtain quality information and information from the field of financing With financial

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plans calculations and analyses of the situation and desired goals helping companies to

detect anomalies and other changes in the financial position of the company

2 Finding Investors for Projects

3 Finding investment projects


Level 1 Transnational Business Preliminary Transfer Information Level 2 Transnational Business Transfer orientation service

bull Organisation of seminars with business transfer legal expert


bull Business to Credit Service



First contact with RCCSB Maribor took place in October 2017

Further intensive contacts were started between IRS and an expert of RCCSB Maribor

(representing a Slovene investor)

Contact and exchange of initial information was done between seller and buyer directly

(mail phone) The process is ongoing

17


Project partners Innovation Region Styria CCI Munich


Regions Styria - Nordrhein-Westfalen


Trading company in a niche market

The small company is situated in Upper Styria and is trading with goods all over Austria

The foreign markets are not in focus The sector is a niche market which has less than 10

players The company was founded in 1975 The products are intense of advice

consulting the customers are quite loyal the price is not as important for the buyers

The product solves important problems the advantage of usage is saving of time and

storage place for the users Digital solutions threaten the use of the products


Contact with 2 German companies (interested buyers) by the Austrian expert

IRS and the Austrian expert Ms Mayer worked on this case After an intensive search for

potential buyers the first meeting with CCI Munich took place in Bavaria in March 2018

with a local potential buyer After the first contact no attractive acquisition conditions

could be achieved A second contact then was found in Nordrhein-Westfalen With this -

much larger company - the negotiations were very fruitful and the negotiation are going

to positively conclude Further data about the buyer may not be given for data protection

reasons

18


Level 1 Transnational Business Preliminary Transfer Information

Level 2 Transnational Business Transfer orientation service

Specialised business transfer consulting services


Output

The contracts have been concluded and the customer acquisition phase began in April

2018 Transfer process is estimated with a period of eight months The company location

in Upper Styria will be continued as a warehouse temporarily

Lessons learned

- The mental barriers for the owner had to be overcome before the strategy for

proceedings could start The owner had to experience the low value of his company

from the perspective of an Austrian buyer After this experience he was open-minded

to begin the contact with a transnational buyer

- The expert network of the project made it very easy to establish relevant contacts in

the potential target market of Germany

In very fruitful discussions with experts the assessment of the German potential

negotiating partners was analysed

- Markets are changing because of digital trading without frontiers Old business models

of trading are threatened Thatrsquos the reason why decision makers have to react

immediately There is an opportunity to find new potential followers buyers because

of this development

- Especially in niche markets the launch into a new market is expansive For the small

Austrian market it can be an advantage for a big player from above

gtgt to save costs for launch

gtgt to receive a regular clientele

gtgt to launch without special spending

19


Project partners Regional Chamber of Craft and Small Business Maribor Innovation

Region Styria

Countries Slovenia - Austria

Regions SloveniaPodravje - Styria


A niche producer of high pressure valves for aggressive gases is on the market since early 1930rsquos All high-pressure gas equipment is engineered and manufactured in the company Main company production facilities and headquarters are located in Ruše (Slovenia) employing 20 people The company is a holder of ISO 90012008 certificate and provides the product quality control according to TPED The whole production is highly flexible and the RampD process is supported with CAD software solutions 5 established product groups consist of industrial and medical equipment aquarist equipment compressors and products for cutting and welding A cutting-edge product was launched for automotive industry air-condition filling systems which was successfully developed in-house 85 of production is exported to 21 markets mainly to EU and Balkan countries Most products (26) are sold to customers in Germany Reasons and rationale for the transaction ndash The owner of PVR kicked-off a new growth cycle based on an innovative new product and expects great potential for the whole product portfolio if the productions assets and sales force would be upgraded ndash The objective of present owner is to share the Companyrsquos potential in exchange for equity investment and market access capabilities

20


An external expert has been provided by IR Styria in order to assist the seller in finding a buyer The expert has presented potential buyers on Austrian market (existing business partners suppliers customers similar branches) as well as all supporting activities


Following services were provided at the location of both partners Regional Chamber of

Craft and Small Business Maribor Innovation Region Styria

Transnational business preliminary transfer information

Transnational business transfer orientation service

Guideline framework for succession and info package

cession and info package


Profile included in business transfer platform


The buyer has received all necessary guidelines for the finalisation of business transfer process The target group of buyers might be an external investor for recapitalisation of the company and its further development A part of time will also be invested in definition of target market of buyers They must also take the decision either to sale the complete company or just a part of it

The seller has also recognized that the time needed for a profitable finalisation of the process will be longer (up to 5 years)

21



Region Styria




A successful Slovenian wood-processing company has been present on the market for 35 years most recognizable in the area of Podravje and Carinthia They export wooden flooring for industrial tents through their business partner to German and Scandinavian countries and also to Australia They make wooden terraces for mobile homes for the Croatian buyer across the entire Croatian coast Because scope of the work the potential is certainly in the expansion of the company The company employs 6 employees all of them are mastered in their work The company renovated the production area and bought new machines in 2011 The production is in the industrial zone at 8000 square meters The sole proprietor would like to retire in next years and transfer the business Transfer within family members is difficult needs the support in the area of basic field in the business transfer process needs to prepare the companies documentation for the process of selling the company

22


Austrian wood cluster active in the production of prefabricated houses is looking for companies ndash producers of wooden panels for walls and ceilings They were represented by an external consultant


Transnational business transfer orientation services

Specialized business transfer consulting services Meetings with internal staff PP10

basic information provided to prepare the company for a possible business transfer

process in particular in the area of evaluation of the company - the setting of selling

prices and the preparation of company documentation sheets for sale 7 working

meetings Inclusion of an external expert accounting and finance Meetings at the IC

Styria and the company headquarter



First contact with RCCSB Maribor took place in October 2017 Further intensive contacts

were started between IR Styria and Slovene investor in 2018 Contact and exchange of

initial information was done between seller and buyer directly (mail phone)

In order to the process seller will transform the sole entrepreneur company into a LTD company They will also involve a German speaking employee Additional activities concerning the valorisation have also started

The activities have shown that the company has very good potential on the market and is

quite interesting for several investors

23

YOUR BUSINESS PARTNERS

2



Countries Italy ndash AustriaGermany

Regions Padua Treviso

Voestalpine is a Austrian-German industrial group of the most important in the world in the steel sector and in particular the processing of steel It has 48500 employees and operates more than 500 companies in fifty countries spread across five continents Despite the great efforts and the means available for research and development of innovative technologies with high added value - a vital factor in resisting the global competition - in the years 2014 and 2015 it held more convenient compared to the autonomous development of specific products and technologies acquiring two Venetian companies that already had access to them Trafilerie Spa Cittadella (In the province of Padua) and Trafilerie Industrial SpA (In the province of Treviso) These companies had in fact reached with their products highly advanced technological levels

The knowledge of the two Italian companies (both controlled by a family shareholding) and their shareholders as competitors or suppliers in special niche markets has certainly favored the choice of the Austrian-German group to invest in them rather than limited to the mere acquisition of their technology but this business decision was also supported by the knowledge and the recognition that the country there were the most favorable environmental conditions to maintain and indeed develop the productive activities that the technology applied

3


4




Regions Veneto



5













investors





enterprise

6








operation

7

















appreciated

8







Euro



sector


Basic services












9

Lessons Learned







10












11




















Advanced services











12










13


















14









15



Business Maribor











Investor




16

















17





















reasons

18






Output




Lessons learned












of this development






19



Region Styria





20















21



Region Styria





22



















23


3


4




Regions Veneto



5













investors





enterprise

6








operation

7

















appreciated

8







Euro



sector


Basic services












9

Lessons Learned







10












11




















Advanced services











12










13


















14









15



Business Maribor











Investor




16

















17





















reasons

18






Output




Lessons learned












of this development






19



Region Styria





20















21



Region Styria





22



















23


4




Regions Veneto



5













investors





enterprise

6








operation

7

















appreciated

8







Euro



sector


Basic services












9

Lessons Learned







10












11




















Advanced services











12










13


















14









15



Business Maribor











Investor




16

















17





















reasons

18






Output




Lessons learned












of this development






19



Region Styria





20















21



Region Styria





22



















23


5













investors





enterprise

6








operation

7

















appreciated

8







Euro



sector


Basic services












9

Lessons Learned







10












11




















Advanced services











12










13


















14









15



Business Maribor











Investor




16

















17





















reasons

18






Output




Lessons learned












of this development






19



Region Styria





20















21



Region Styria





22



















23


6








operation

7

















appreciated

8







Euro



sector


Basic services












9

Lessons Learned







10












11




















Advanced services











12










13


















14









15



Business Maribor











Investor




16

















17





















reasons

18






Output




Lessons learned












of this development






19



Region Styria





20















21



Region Styria





22



















23


7

















appreciated

8







Euro



sector


Basic services












9

Lessons Learned







10












11




















Advanced services











12










13


















14









15



Business Maribor











Investor




16

















17





















reasons

18






Output




Lessons learned












of this development






19



Region Styria





20















21



Region Styria





22



















23


8







Euro



sector


Basic services












9

Lessons Learned







10












11




















Advanced services











12










13


















14









15



Business Maribor











Investor




16

















17





















reasons

18






Output




Lessons learned












of this development






19



Region Styria





20















21



Region Styria





22



















23


9

Lessons Learned







10












11




















Advanced services











12










13


















14









15



Business Maribor











Investor




16

















17





















reasons

18






Output




Lessons learned












of this development






19



Region Styria





20















21



Region Styria





22



















23


10












11




















Advanced services











12










13


















14









15



Business Maribor











Investor




16

















17





















reasons

18






Output




Lessons learned












of this development






19



Region Styria





20















21



Region Styria





22



















23


11




















Advanced services











12










13


















14









15



Business Maribor











Investor




16

















17





















reasons

18






Output




Lessons learned












of this development






19



Region Styria





20















21



Region Styria





22



















23


12










13


















14









15



Business Maribor











Investor




16

















17





















reasons

18






Output




Lessons learned












of this development






19



Region Styria





20















21



Region Styria





22



















23


13


















14









15



Business Maribor











Investor




16

















17





















reasons

18






Output




Lessons learned












of this development






19



Region Styria





20















21



Region Styria





22



















23


14









15



Business Maribor











Investor




16

















17





















reasons

18






Output




Lessons learned












of this development






19



Region Styria





20















21



Region Styria





22



















23


15



Business Maribor











Investor




16

















17





















reasons

18






Output




Lessons learned












of this development






19



Region Styria





20















21



Region Styria





22



















23


16

















17





















reasons

18






Output




Lessons learned












of this development






19



Region Styria





20















21



Region Styria





22



















23


17





















reasons

18






Output




Lessons learned












of this development






19



Region Styria





20















21



Region Styria





22



















23


18






Output




Lessons learned












of this development






19



Region Styria





20















21



Region Styria





22



















23


19



Region Styria





20















21



Region Styria





22



















23


20















21



Region Styria





22



















23


21



Region Styria





22



















23


22



















23


23


c-temalp · 2019-03-18 · services it offers its customers. the limited liability company has 20...

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