Katy Wroclawskie, Poland February 26th 2020.
The solemn opening ceremony of the new manufacturing site took place today in the presence of many guests. Among them officials from local authorities, several customers, suppliers to the project and representatives from the owners. The official ribbon cutting ceremony was conducted by the Norwegian Ambassador to Poland, Mr. Olav Myklebust.
“I am very pleased to see Norwegian company Jøtul, with their unique history of providing stylish, high quality wood stoves and fireplaces for more than 160 years, expanding their presence in Poland through this new plant here in Wroclaw. This contributes to the trend of strengthened cooperation between Norway and Poland in many areas, including in the business sector, “ said Mr. Myklebust in his speech.
CEO of Jøtul Group, Mr. Nils Agnar Brunborg, said in he speech that this was an important day for the future of the Jøtul Group. “This plant is bringing together the best of two plants we had in Norway and Denmark. Additional we have invested some Euro 7 million in new state of the art equipment enable the plant to produce both steel stoves for Scan and cast iron stoves for Jøtul based on casted parts from our foundry in Norway. We have been in production since early January and are now around 120 well skilled local employees. This will increase further as we are increasing production day by day.” Mr. Brunborg also thanked everyone working hard to implement this project in a very tight time line. “A lot of employees have put in a lot of energy and time to achieve this. We are also very impressed by our landlord Prologis, that together with their many contractors constructed a 20.000 m2 “tailormade” building for us in six months”, said Mr. Brunborg.
Managing Director of OpenGate Capital, Mr. Marc Veillas, was also present today. Mr. Veillas expressed high satisfaction with the new plant and the execution of the project. “When we acquired Jøtul Group in the beginning of 2018 we started an extensive analysis together with the management on how to improve profitability, hereunder the production and distribution footprint of the Group. This analysis ended in a decision in end of 2018 to build this new plant in Poland. This to achieve a lower cost structure and synergies by moving the manufacturing in Denmark together with most of the manufacturing that took place in Norway. A very important part of the decision was that we wanted to continue to be in control of our own production, making sure that the Group continue to produce high quality products for all their brands. We also decided to keep our R&D and innovation centers both in Denmark and Norway to enable us to continue the development of the innovative and high quality products the Group is known for. OpenGate Capital is very committed to our investment in Jøtul and this day is a milestone for the future of the Jøtul Group”, said Mr. Veillas.
About Jøtul Group
Jøtul is one of the world’s oldest producers of stoves, inserts and fireplaces. Building on a proud Norwegian heritage, Jøtul combines fine craftsmanship with the art of coping with the cold for 160 years. Jøtul is headquartered in Norway and features four prominent brands Jøtul. Scan, Ild and Atra and proudly sells to 45 countries around the world.
About OpenGate Capital
Founded in 2005, OpenGate Capital is a global private equity firm that strives to acquire and optimize lower middle market businesses throughout North American and Europe. With a strategic international presence and a focus on corporate carve-outs and complex situations, the firm’s expertise allows it to realize a seller’s divestiture objectives while mitigating the risks associated with a business’s transition to independence. OpenGate is headquartered in Los Angeles and Paris and has a seasoned in-house team of professionals overseeing the entire lifecycle of each investment. To learn more about OpenGate, please visit: www.opengatecapital.com.
Contact:
Nils Agnar Brunborg, CEO Jøtul Group,
phone +47 90 60 55 78, mail nils.brunborg@jotul.no
