Juuri Partners has made a significant investment in Flowplus, a flow mechanics maintenance service company. The aim is to grow Flowplus into a nationwide service provider by doubling the depot network. With IoT technology and digitality at its core, the company has its sights set in developing predictive maintenance and energy audit solutions.
Flowplus offers flow mechanics maintenance services to both municipal customers as well as industrial and energy customers such as Neste and UPM. With The company generated EUR 13 million in net sales in 2017 through its network of nine depots. After the share issue the company’s largest owners are CEO Jarmo Piippo and Juuri Partners.
“The entrepreneurial Flowplus has shown its capabilities to grow successfully both through acquisitions as well as organically. The company has shaped the market as a brand independent niche specialist through the development of digital solutions. We are very excited to partner with Flowplus and its entrepreneurs in the company’s next growth phase”, comments Juuri Partners’s partner Tommi Asmala.
Domestic growth strategy based on acquisitions
Strong acquisitive domestic growth aims to cement brand independent Flowplus’s status as a nationwide operator through doubling the number of depots.
“Industrial investments are on the rise and customers are outsourcing maintenance services to an increasing extent. There is plenty of room for us to grow in the current market conditions and acquisitions have proved to be an efficient way for us to accelerate our growth”, describes Jarmo Piippo.
The latest acquisition was executed in connection with Juuri Partners investment as Flowplus acquired Oulu-based MDA Service’s share capital. MDA Service focuses on the maintenance of large and high voltage electric motors. The company, specialised in megawatt-sized electric machine maintenance, had net sales of EUR 1.6 million. The special expertise accumulated through the acquisition complements Flowplus’s offering and enables more comprehensive service offering.
Predictive maintenance and energy auditing
Alongside its growth strategy, Flowplus is developing predictive maintenance and energy audit solutions, both of which generate tangible economic benefits to customer through savings in repair and energy costs.
“Predictive maintenance gives our customers a significant competitive advantage. The indirect costs of a broken part in an industrial process can be up to several hundred thousand euros”, says Piippo.”Significant cost savings can also be achieved through energy auditing. Over a fifth of the energy used by electric motors is consumed by pumps. A digital analysis and the optimisation of pumps can save up to 40 percent of the energy.”
Further information: Jarmo Piippo, CEO, Flowplus, tel. 0500 407 594, jarmo.piippo@flowplus.fi
Tommi Asmala, partner, Juuri Partners, tel. 040 534 6228, tommi.asmala@juuripartners.fi
Flowplus Oy
Flowplus is specialised in maintenance and operation of flow mechanics operating on a brand-independent basis. Development of digital processes has been in focus since the beginning in the company aiming for international growth. Flowplus a pioneer in its own field even on international scale. Flowplus group targets net sales of EUR 18 million for 2018.
Juuri Partners
Juuri Fund I LP is a Finnish private equity investment fund that finances established and profitable small and medium-sized enterprises in Finland. The fund is managed by Juuri Partners Ltd. Juuri Partners offers growth-focused companies a new business development and financing concept that combines active minority ownership, business operation support and debt financing. The fund is currently worth approximately EUR 80 million and has investments from several significant institutional investors from Finland.