Fontana Group doubles in size with the acquisition of German giant Kamax
The group is now at two billion in revenues. Giuseppe Fontana: 'Consistent growth strategy to have a global presence, we look to the future with confidence'
by Luca Orlando
"What is missing? New Zealand, Australia and little else".
For Giuseppe Fontana, scrolling through the list of major markets, it is now more difficult to find a place in the world where there is no direct production presence of his group. Because just a few months after the purchase of Right Tight Fasteners in India and Mnp Corporation in the United States, the world leader in automotive clamping systems has made the biggest acquisition in its history, taking over the entire capital of the German giant Kamax.
An epoch-making operation for the Fontana Group, which brings a dowry of 3,000 employees, 700 million in revenues, and no less than 15 plants, with a significant presence in Germany, throughout Europe, and in China. "Where in fact we were not yet present," explains the CEO, "but I must say that with Kamax we are also strengthening our presence in Eastern Europe, in Spain, and obviously in the German market. Where this group can count on established relationships with formidable customers such as Volkswagen-Audi, Mercedes, Bmw, which represent some of their biggest business partners'.
Doubled in one year
In little more than a year, the Fontana Group is thus more than doubling its size, reaching an annual turnover of two billion (it was 850 million at the end of 2024), with a global production reality that has jumped to 42 plants worldwide, now employing 9,000 people.
The complex negotiations with Kamax began in 2024 and were also influenced by the complex moment in which the global automotive industry finds itself, as well as by the difficult phase for the Berlin economy, which last year saw a recent record number of company bankruptcies. A scenario that prompted Kamax itself to restructure its activities by selling off part of the business and reducing its overall workforce by a thousand or so.
'Certainly,' explains Fontana, 'the German crisis and the difficulties in the automotive sector played a role in the shareholders' decision to sell. While we, on the contrary, wanted and wanted to continue growing. In the recent crisis we have certainly suffered less than them, but I must say that even more so after the major restructuring that has taken place, Kamax is a lean, solid company that can count on great technological capabilities and a formidable market presence'. Developed in clamping systems, the group's core business, as for Fontana, components directed largely to the automotive sector worldwide, with a production of almost three billion pieces per year drawn from over 200,000 tonnes of steel, enough - as the German group explains on its website - to build 22 Eiffel Towers.
