SOCOMORE has finalized its acquisition of the MÄDER Group Aerospace and Defense Business Unit, completing a 100% buy-out of MÄDER AERO, a company who develops and markets aerospace coatings.
For SOCOMORE Group, this takeover presents an opportunity to add to their range of anti-erosion coatings designed for use with new engines, 2 years after having purchased the Aeroglaze / Chemglaze ranges of functionalized coatings from LORD Inc. Strengthening their flyable ranges is a key component of SOCOMORE’s strategy as they look towards 2024 and their objective of raising turnover to €130m.
MÄDER has developed a reputation for high-tech, environmentally-friendly solutions, highly qualified by major aerospace manufacturers. This new subsidiary will function independently within SOCOMORE’s Coatings Business Unit, and will be tasked with developing R&D synergy in the short-term, before aiming for commercial synergy with SOCOMORE personnel in the medium-term. With the 2 groups that have signed a cooperation agreement, everything is in place to ensure that activity is able to continue without any interruptions for MÄDER AERO clients:
- Personnel Continuity: The employees of MÄDER AERO will remain based in Méry-sur-Oise (95) for R&D, marketing and sales, and at the MÄDER industrial site in L’Aigle (61) for sales administration, manufacturing, and quality control.
- Product Manufacturing: MÄDER AERO products are manufactured at MÄDER manufacturing plants, where there are expertise and industrial equipment needed to manufacture these products. Operational excellence is always a priority when it comes to serving clients in the aerospace sector. The main site in L’Aigle will retain its EN 9100 certification for aeronautics.
- R&D Innovation: MÄDER AERO’s R&D personnel (5 employees) will retain their ties with MÄDER R&D and will develop synergy with SOCOMORE in order to develop their products. The buyout of MÄDER’s aerospace arm is backed up by an ambitious cooperation agreement that will see their teams working ever closer with each other, particularly in the field of anti-corrosion, anti-erosion and cabin interiors.
- MÄDER Conseil: SOCOMORE participated in the €19m capital increase within MÄDER’s holding company (Mäder Conseil) as part of the takeover of BS Coating, seeking to support MÄDER on a long-term basis.
- Customer Relations: business contracts will be transferred over to MÄDER AERO, with no changes to either the commercial contacts or the distributors. There will be potential for synergy in the coming months between MÄDER AERO’s technical sales department and SOCOMORE’s. Currently, the priority is to ensure activity continuity for the clients.
SOCOMORE is adding to their range of coatings (primer, wash primer, topcoat, clear coat, etc.), with the following functions:
- Anti-Corrosion
- Anti-Erosion
- Resistance to High Temperatures
- Resistance to Lightning
- Resistance to Stone-Chip
- Resistance to UV
SOCOMORE is able to offer a full range of chromate-free, water-based coatings, all of which conform to REACH, and which have been approved by major clients such as Safran, UTC/Collins Aerospace, Thales and Airbus Helicopters.
Frédéric Lescure, CEO of SOCOMORE: “SOCOMORE is pursuing its consolidation strategy in the field of specialist chemical products for use on surfaces in aeronautics, with a particular focus on flyable products. This new entity within the SOCOMORE group is entirely in keeping with our goal of developing solutions with significant added-value for our clients. SOCOMORE moves towards consolidation in relation to supply chain stakeholders within the French aerospace sector, something that the major clients are keen to see happen”.
Antonio Molina, CEO of the MÄDER Group: “I am delighted to welcome SOCOMORE from Brittany into the capital of our group’s holding company and extremely proud of the R&D partnership that we have entered into, which will give MÄDER AERO access to cutting-edge technology in the field of functionalized coatings”.
