H2 Equity acquires Contiweb

H2 Equity Partners is to acquire dryer and web handling equipment supplier Contiweb from PE house American Industrial Partners (AIP).

The acquisition, subject to the usual approvals, is expected to close by the end of the year.

The change of ownership comes a year after a merger involving Netherlands-based Contiweb’s parent, Goss International, and Manroland Web Systems. Until August 2018, Contiweb was a subsidiary of Goss, but following Goss’s merger with former river Manroland, Goss owner AIP spun out Contiweb as a standalone, independent business.

The auxiliary equipment supplier, which has been in business since 1978, specialises in the development and manufacture of splicers and dryers for offset printing lines. More recently, it began manufacturing auxiliary equipment for digital, flexible packaging, and label printing presses and the Contiweb Thallo hybrid web offset press.

Contiweb has installed more than 3,000 systems, has nearly 200 employees and generated €52m (£45m) in sales last year.

Managing partner at H2, Gert Jan van der Hoeven, said: “We are impressed by the depth of the engineering capabilities, the culture of innovation, and the customer-centric ethos that we have seen at Contiweb.

“We see many attractive growth opportunities for Contiweb and look forward to working with [its] management and wider organisation to realise its full potential.”