ECONOMY AND MARKET
Italian technology plast / April 2025
022
Koinos Capital Acquires a Majority Stake in Lapi
Koinos Uno, private equity fund of Koinos Capital SGR, an independent multistrategy investment firm, announces the acquisition of a majority stake in Lapi, a leading Italian player specializing in computer-aided thermoforming of durable goods and industrial components. Aligned with its entrepreneurial buy & build strategy, Koinos Capital SGR’ s entry into Lapi marks the launch of a new sectoral hub of excellence in the continuously evolving and growing field of computer-aided thermoforming. The transaction aims to create an integrated platform offering comprehensive solutions, a high level of service and a strong focus on sustainability.
Marco Morgese, CEO of Koinos Capital SGR
The development plan driving the project includes a five-year investment program designed to increase Lapi’ s production capacity and competitiveness, both domestically and internationally. Furthermore, it seeks to facilitate the consolidation of specialized players in Italy and abroad – particularly in Spain, France and the United States – focusing on materials or market segments not yet covered by the company. The acquisition was finalized through the sale of shares held by the shareholders – Vaifro and Piero Campanini, and Lorenzo Baldi – and the simultaneous reinvestment by Dimitri Campanini, one of the founders’ son and Lapi’ s Sales Manager, who will continue his journey within the company. Founded in 1989 in Barco di Bibbiano( RE), Lapi operates across three production facilities, manufacturing components for a wide range of applications in various industrial sectors, including special vehicles, agriculture, earth-moving equipment, logistics, industrial machinery and medical devices. The company, with a team of over 80 employees and more than 150 clients, closed 2023 with an EBITDA of approximately € 3 million. Between 2012 and 2023, Lapi achieved a CAGR of around 6 %, demonstrating strong resilience to the economic cycles experienced over the years. The target market, currently valued at an estimated € 1.5 billion, is expected to grow by 4 % annually over the next five years. This growth will be driven by the ongoing evolution of end-use sectors and the increasing penetration of the technology compared to alternative materials such as fiberglass or metal. With its involvement, Koinos will also support Lapi – which, as part of the transaction, has chosen to become a Benefit Corporation starting from the closing – in the development of its ESG plan, aiming to achieve its B-Corp certification in the coming years. To date, the company has already implemented several high-impact sustainability initiatives, both environmentally – such as the installation of photovoltaic systems that have reduced CO2 emissions by 160 tons / year – and in in the production and social spheres, with various projects benefiting employees and the local community. Marco Morgese, CEO of Koinos Capital SGR, stated:“ Lapi’ s acquisition marks an important milestone in our journey, as it provides us with the opportunity to launch another aggregation project in a promising and growing sector. This transaction – the fifth completed by the fund Koinos Uno – is fully aligned with our entrepreneurial approach, which focuses on creating and developing centres of excellence in fragmented industrial sectors with high potential. Moreover, we are placing a strong emphasis on ESG, as the main evaluation criteria aligned with B-Corp requirements were already applied during the due diligence phase, and the process to achieve this certification has been initiated with the goal of completing it as soon as possible”.
Hera Group Unveils FIB3R, a Plant that Regenerates Carbon Fibre
The Hera Group is moving swiftly towards the circular economy of the future and has inaugurated, in Imola( Bologna), the first plant of its kind in Europe, capable of regenerating carbon fibre on an industrial scale. It is called FIB3R, a name that reflects the 3 R’ s that stand at the basis of the project: recover, reduce, reuse. Carbon fibre is thus recovered and reused, reducing the use of virgin fibre and therefore the environmental impact that would be required to produce it. There is one important competitive advantage: the fibre regenerated from FIB3R retains the virgin fibre’ s characteristic lightness and high strength, guaranteeing- through a stateof-the-art pyrogasification process- that the regenerated product is ready to be reused, rewoven and / or impregnated, for the high-performance purposes for which this type of material is intended. The number of industrial sectors interested in these outstanding features is increasing, ranging from automotive to aerospace, nautical, furniture, textiles and fashion in the broadest sense, only to give a few examples. The Hera Group’ s commitment to advancing the ecological transition, as well as the expected increase in demand for carbon fibre over the next few years, have led it to anticipate this megatrend, accepting the challenge of applying it to this material as well, on an industrial scale. This will reinforce the virtuous path towards the circular economy that has been the basis of its strategy for years, combining economic growth with environmental sustainability. This path is the right one, as confirmed by the interest of the European Union, which has allocated FIB3R financing coming to more than 2.2 million euro as part of NextGenerationEU for its inno-
The Hera Group FIB3R plant in Imola, near Bologna
vative technology and the strategic importance of the materials processed. The total investment planned by the Hera Group to build the Imola plant amounts to 8 million euro. At present, the plant is expected to produce 160 tonnes of recycled carbon fibre each year, with energy savings coming to 75 % compared to virgin fibre.“ FIB3R is the first plant of its kind in Europe able to recycle carbon fibre. It is aimed at promoting short and circular supply chains, in line with the strategy of making our served areas more competitive and resilient,” states Orazio Iacono, CEO of the Hera Group.“ FIB3R is also a concrete example of how the Hera Group is able to combine technological innovation and sustainability, by exploiting the cross fertilisation between the advanced skills of the Group’ s various sectors. Recovering carbon fibre not only reduces the environmental impact of this waste, but also creates new market opportunities in strategic industrial sectors. Investing in this kind of circular infrastructure increases the resilience of production chains, reduces dependence on imports of critical raw materials and, at the same time, creates value through sustainable business models. With over 100 advanced plants and 5 new facilities under construction, we have consolidated our country’ s largest and most modern set of plants for material treatment and recovery, strengthening our role as a reference operator in the sector and a driving force for the circular economy in Italy. Our Business Plan confirms this strategy, with 2 billion euro in investments for 2024-2028 destined for regenerating resources, a commitment intended to generate value for all our stakeholders.” www. plastmagazine. it