Hertecant

Westerlo-based Hertecant was founded in 1983 and employs about 40 people. The company produces high-quality flanges in European stainless steel. A flange is used to connect pipes, valves, pumps and other devices in a network of pipelines. The presence of a flange in the network allows easy maintenance, inspection and adjustments. Flanges are often used in chemically corrosive environments with very strict health and safety requirements. In those mission-critical applications, traceability and quality are extremely important as the cost of a faulty flange or the damage caused by a non-compliant flange is huge.

Long-term strategy

With PMV as an additional partner, the company hopes to further realise its long-term strategy of becoming a world leader in the niche of urgent and critical supplies of flanges and related products. The entry of PMV further strengthens the financial basis and allows for continued investments to support further growth. This should come first and foremost organically: stricter requirements and a greater need for reliable processes in the petrochemical, energy and maritime sectors are likely to increase demand for quick replacements. Besides this organic growth, Hertecant management envisions several acquisition opportunities that should turn the company into a niche world player.

Aspiration

The transaction provides Hertecant with additional financial resources so that the company can continue its development and take a top position in its sector. Indeed, what at first glance looks like low-tech (forging, press hammers, turning and milling…) is the result of a thorough knowledge of materials, production technical know-how and customised IT support. Whereas many local manufacturing companies choose to fully focus on automation and outsourcing or delocalising (parts of) their production, Hertecant has chosen to produce everything itself in a flexible organisation with well-trained, local staff and to continue to innovate. With the investment, PMV hopes to increase Hertecant’s scale enabling it to continue to grow and become sustainably anchored over time. This way, it will not become an acquisition prey in a consolidating market.