The Finnish company Relais Group and the Swedish companies ABR and Huzells are joining forces and becoming a leading automotive electrical equipment and spare parts provider in the Nordic countries
Relais Group is a privately owned Finnish automotive electrical equipment and spare parts company that during the last decade has expanded into the Nordic and Baltic countries. The Group serves its reseller customers with the companies Startax and Awimex in Finland, Sweden, Norway, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. By joining the forces Relais, ABR and Huzells will be able to offer the customers more comprehensive services and customer support, as well as one of the most extensive product ranges on the market. The arrangement also creates a stronger financial entity, which benefits everyone from suppliers to customers and employees.
ABR and Huzells are strong in their respective segments in Sweden. Relais has operations in Sweden, primarily within automotive electrical equipment – a product area in which ABR and Huzells do not yet have a very broad offering. Relais is very strong in Finland, where ABR and Huzells are not yet present. In addition, Relais has solid footholds in Norway and the Baltics. The owners of both companies see great mutual upsides in the joining forces.
The parent company for the group will be Relais Group Oy. As a result of the arrangement, the present owner of ABR and Huzells (Nordic Industry Development AB) becomes a substantial shareholder in Relais Group along with the current shareholders of the company.
Arni Ekholm, the CEO of Relais, comments:
“By joining our forces, we can serve our customers even better and more competitively than before. We want to be the trusted partner of our customers and support their business operations by offering them critical solutions, from electrical equipment to spare parts and specialist services, reliably, efficiently and in a timely manner. The diverse products of ABR and Huzells and the competence of their personnel excellently complement our product range and expertise.
This arrangement also accelerates our growth and internationalisation in accordance with our strategy. Relais has strong specialised expertise in automotive electrical equipment and spare parts. With our own strong brands, we are a key supplier of LED-technology based lighting products for different types of vehicles in our current markets. We will now get a great platform to leverage our expertise and our own brands in the fast-growing Swedish market. We can also utilise the excellent competence and product range of ABR and Huzells in Relais’ other markets. In our view, the Nordic automotive electrical equipment and spare parts market will become more and more consolidated. Joining our forces will ensure our ability to continue operating as an active forerunner in the market.”
Jesper Otterbeck, CEO of Nordic Industry Development AB comments:
“We expect this arrangement to clearly benefit our customers, as we can offer them a wider portfolio of automotive electrical equipment and spare parts. We also believe that Relais customers in the other Nordic countries will benefit from our broad range of products and highly developed catalogue and search-tools.
Both ABR and Huzells are well-known and trusted players in the Swedish market. We are pleased to be able to continue the development and growth of the companies’ business operations by joining forces with the Relais Group.”
Further information
Relais Group Oy
Arni Ekholm, CEO
email: arni.ekholm@relais.fi
+358 40 760 3323
Certified Adviser:
Evli Bank Plc, tel. +358 40 579 6210
Relais Group Oy
Relais Group is a Finnish growth-oriented company that actively develops automotive electrical equipment and spare parts business operations in the Nordic and Baltic countries. We support the business operations of our customers by using our companies Startax and Awimex to offer reliably, efficiently and in a timely manner those critical solutions, from electrical equipment to spare parts and specialist services, that keep vehicles moving safely – every day. The 2018 turnover of Relais was 72.4 million euros and the group employed 150 people.
AB Reservdelar, ABR
ABR is one of Sweden’s leading independent suppliers of spare parts for passenger cars and vans and has the widest product range on the market, in addition to a progressive electronic customer service platform. The company operates in Stockholm and Malmö. The 2018 turnover of the company was 322 million Swedish crowns and it employed 79 people.
Huzells AB
Huzells, located in Karlstad, is one of Sweden’s leading independent suppliers of spare parts and components for commercial heavy-duty vehicles and accessories related to automotive. The 2018 turnover of the company was 161 million Swedish crowns and it employed 34 people.