Trox Group has restructured in a bid to guarantee its future and create the right conditions for continued expansion.
The €300 million company is privately owned by its founder’s son, Heinz Trox who explained: “As a company, we follow two philosophies – first, we want to make money. However, of equal importance, we have to grow through our own strength as well as by acquisitions. I have worked for 47 years for this company – it is my life. I now have a 100% say in its future and therefore these two philosophies will be guaranteed.”
Under the new ownership structure, Heinz Trox has gained 90% of the shares with the remaining 10% being taken by the newly created, non-profit making Heinz Trox Foundation. After Mr Trox’s death, the Heinz Trox Foundation will hold all the shares, a move which is designed to guarantee a continuity of company policies, assure future growth, create employment security for Trox’s employees, and protect the company from external influences.
It also ensures that there are no financial discussions in the family. Mr Trox explained: “With me gone, a situation would have arisen that could have been disastrous, with one half of the family wanting to make money, and the other wanting to develop the company. This would have created deadlock and paralysis.”
Finally, the new structure ensures no inheritance tax will be payable and allows the continued payment of a minimum dividend so that the company remains strong financially.
Mr Trox said: “All this is aimed at strengthening the company through increased profits and growth. We permanently look around the world for companies that could make a viable fit with Trox Group. There is no question that we wait for somebody to ask us whether we would like to buy them.”
Trox Group Chief Executive Officer Dr Helmut Franzen added: “Trox has acquired several companies in the last six to eight years in Switzerland, Germany, and Norway. It has been a mix of product-oriented and market-oriented acquisitions. For example, in Norway we made a market oriented acquisition because Trox Auranor has a product that almost overlaps with the Trox product portfolio, but it is designed for the Scandinavian market. So, by acquiring this company we gained a very strong foothold in Norway, with a market share of more than 40%, and we used this product portfolio to export into other Scandinavian markets in Finland, Sweden and Denmark.”
He added that Trox wanted to grow by acquisitions that were defined in accordance with the company’s strategy. “We target companies we want to buy from our strategies with regard to products and markets, and then approach them. We are not interested in companies that approach us.”