Paris/Düsseldorf/Brussels, June 2021 - The French EPSA Group has acquired four companies from the Düsseldorf-based Kloepfel Group and the Belgian Kronos Group. According to analyses by market research company Lünendonk, the new alliance of EPSA, Kronos and Kloepfel is the largest consulting group specializing in procurement and supply chain management in the pan-European region with over 1,300 employees. The merger has a total of 1,600 employees.
Strong manpower for difficult times
The current structural crisis is forcing economic players to reorganize or even restructure themselves and find new levers to deal with this unprecedented situation. This is where the new alliance comes in: from business strategy, finance and the transformation of organizations, to purchasing and supply chain optimization, to the re-engineering of production resources and costs or the management of complex projects and the use of digital solutions.
Complementary expertise for a strong economy
Kloepfel: The new alliance for strong purchasing includes the purchasing consultancy Kloepfel Consulting, the 4th-party logistics company Kloepfel 4PL, the procurement outsourcing specialist Kloepfel Services, and the product cost optimizer Kloepfel Engineering. Marc Kloepfel and Duran Sarikaya will continue to head these four companies as managing directors. With over 200 employees and annual sales of around €25 million, these companies are among the leading purchasing service providers in the DACH region, Eastern Europe, and the Netherlands. In 2021, Kloepfel Consulting received the prestigious "Best Consultants" audience award from the business magazine Brand eins for the sixth time in a row.
Kronos: The Kronos Group operates primarily in Europe and works in the areas of purchasing consulting, finance, transformation, and project management. With over 140 employees, the Kronos Group is a rapidly growing European company that generates over €14 million in revenue per year. The group has received multiple awards for its exceptional management and development, including the Financial Times' "Europe's 1000 fastest growing companies" award in 2018 and 2019. The company continues to be led by its two founders, Catherine Van Wonterghem and Benoit Graas.
EPSA: The EPSA Group's 1,300 employees serve 4,500 active customers in 30 countries. The company boasts uninterrupted growth over the last five years, reaching an annual net turnover of 170 million euros in 2021. EPSA Group, a proven and respected player in creating and delivering sustainable performance, has managed to save over €3.6 billion for its clients since 2001. EPSA focuses on: Organizational transformation, supply chain performance, tax and social contribution optimization, innovation financing, energy consumption optimization, procurement consulting and outsourcing through the EPSA Marketplace.
Matthieu Gufflet, founding president of EPSA, explains: "This alliance strengthens EPSA's position across Europe. The coronavirus crisis has clearly shown that companies are looking for new levers for performance optimization on a global scale. Our goal is to work hand in hand with our customers to drive the transformation needed to meet the challenges ahead."
Marc Kloepfel, CEO of the Kloepfel Group, explains: "We have decided to take this important step in order to consolidate our position in the global market, bring fresh expertise on board, and enable the entire group to develop much more quickly. We look forward to working with EPSA and are absolutely certain that we have found the right partner for our further development. Our alliance offers companies every opportunity to take their purchasing to a new level as a driver of returns and innovation in global competition."
Catherine Van Wonterghem & Benoit Graas, founders of Kronos Group: "In less than ten years, thanks to the development of a talented team of consultants and experts, we have become one of the leading companies in our market. This new and powerful alliance allows us to join a family that shares the same vision and entrepreneurial culture while maintaining a high degree of autonomy. We are extremely motivated to be part of this new adventure together with all our colleagues across Europe."