Relais Group Plc
Press Release 2 May 2024 at 10:10 a.m. EEST
 

Relais Group Plc group company Raskone has on 2 May 2024 acquired Asennustyö M Ahlqvist Oy. Asennustyö M Ahlqvist is a company that has been operating for over 30 years, providing maintenance and repair services for heavy commercial vehicles in Southwest Finland. The company is particularly renowned for its expertise in heavy commercial vehicle trailers. Its workshops are located in Rusko, Laitila, and Uusikaupunki, employing a total of 68 professionals. In addition to maintenance and repairs for heavy commercial vehicles, the company offers tire services, vehicle wraps, and tarpaulin production for heavy commercial vehicles. For the fiscal year ending in April 2023, the company reported net sales of EUR 8.7 million and operating profit of EUR 0.6 million.

With the acquisition, Raskone strengthens its position in Southwest Finland and expands its core services, particularly in trailer repair and maintenance. Tony Ahlqvist will continue as the managing director of Asennustyö M Ahlqvist Oy, and he has also been appointed to Raskone's management team, starting from 2 May 2024 with responsibility for developing Raskone's trailer operations.

Jan Popov, Managing Director of Raskone:

"Despite challenging market conditions, Raskone has grown significantly, expanding and diversifying our operations at the same time. The acquisition of Asennustyö M Ahlqvist is a strategically significant transaction for Raskone, providing us with even better opportunities for growth together with our customers. This acquisition is a logical continuation to the acquisition of the renowned Jyväskylä Truck Center business announced late last year. Our goal is to further expand through new acquisitions."

Mika Ahlqvist, the founder and owner of Asennustyö M Ahlqvist Oy:

"The decision to sell our family business to Raskone was based on a strong belief that Raskone is the best possible home for continuing our family company's growth. Raskone respects our entrepreneurial culture and values, and it is essential to me that both employees and customers continue to be well taken care of in the future."

Tony Ahlqvist, Managing Director of Asennustyö M Ahlqvist Oy:

"Our esteemed family business is now entering an exciting new development phase. I am pleased to lead the company forward while preserving the strong Ahlqvist identity, but as part of a larger group with additional resources. Our service concept focuses on maintaining and improving the functionality of our customers' transport equipment, and now we have even better conditions for this. I am also excited to contribute to the overall development of the Raskone group as part of its management team."

Arni Ekholm, CEO of Relais Group Plc:

"It is great to welcome yet another group of top professionals to the growing Relais Group. Raskone provides an excellent home for Asennustyö M Ahlqvist Oy from the perspective of employees, customers and other stakeholders. I am particularly pleased that this acquisition significantly strengthens our heavy commercial vehicle trailer business, which is of strategic importance to us."

Further information:

Arni Ekholm, CEO
Phone: +358 40 760 3323
E-mail: arni.ekholm@relais.fi

Relais Group

Relais Group is a leading consolidator and acquisition platform on the vehicle aftermarket in the Nordic and Baltic countries. We have a sector focus in vehicle life cycle enhancement and related services. We also serve as a growth platform for the companies we own.

We are a profitable company seeking strong growth. We carry out targeted acquisitions in line with our growth strategy and want to be an active player in the consolidation of the aftermarket in our area of operation. Our acquisitions are targeted at companies having a good strategic fit with our group companies.

Our net sales in 2023 was EUR 284.3 (2022: 260.7) million. During 2023, we completed a total of four acquisitions. We employ approximately 1,000 professionals in six different countries. The Relais Group share is listed on the Main Market of Nasdaq Helsinki with the stock symbol RELAIS.

www.relais.fi