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Internationalisation

Takler of Matera looking for an American company to acquire

The company that produces mechanical components has a sales subsidiary in New Jersey but to neutralise the effect of tariffs it aims to produce in the USA

30 June 2025

3' min read

The American dream of the Takler Group of Matera, a metalworking company that manufactures and markets accessories for industrial vehicles, is not stopping but is changing its production strategy in the United States. The aim now is to buy an American company.

It was in 2016 that the company from Matera crossed the European borders by opening a sales subsidiary in Kearny, New Jersey. Takler USA, thanks to the US 'Vision Zero' programme, the aim of which is to reduce casualties from road accidents, in the area of road safety for cyclists and pedestrians, is selected as the official supplier of lateral protection devices on American trucks by the City of New York. From less than one million in turnover at its start-up, it has risen to the current 7 million, which now represents 8% of the group's business, a percentage that is growing (73% of exports are split 55% in Europe and 18% outside Europe).

"We used to open up to America looking at its great opportunities _ stresses Domenico Lorusso, manager Takler group, 41 years old _ but today the scenario has changed. From 'I have a dream' to 'I have a deal'. Now we only talk about deals, financial and economic armistices with repercussions on our national economy and also in the US itself. We can also absorb a number of tariffs, but we are in a state of uncertainty that paralyses us. The fact that America has immediately made agreements with England and China, and not with Europe, creates an obvious competitive disadvantage that results in a stalemate, which puts companies like Takler that want to invest in new production sites at a disadvantage'.

The Takler brand was founded in 2005 in Matera in the Jesce Industrial Zone, between Puglia and Basilicata. It is a company that grew out of a well-established entrepreneurial group (100% owned by the Lorusso family) established in the international automotive markets since 1989. Five business units: Takler Automotive, Takler Aluminium Extrusion; Takler USA; Lokhen; Sira; 69 countries served (37 in Europe, 15 in Asia and Oceania, 9 in the Americas and 8 in Africa); 5 million pieces produced per year by Takler Automotive, 2 million pieces per year by Lokhen, 7 million kg annual production by Takler Aluminium Extrusion; 75 million annual turnover by Takler Group, 250 employees; 45 industrial patents.

'Now that the tariffs are not fully effective,' Lorusso explains, 'we are seeing a kind of hoarding from our customers before the situation worsens. But the number of containers present and stopped in customs in the US has reached record levels. The risk is that in the medium and long term the US market could decelerate, although it remains of great potential'.

Takler is therefore abandoning plans to open a production plant in America and opting for the acquisition of an American company in the same sector. 'We want,' Lorusso emphasises, 'to acquire a company that already has a structure of its own and bring in that business culture that has been lacking in the American market in recent years. But, for Takler, the challenge of challenges remains the Chinese market, which has enormous potential, but also great complexity. "Our headquarters, however, remain firmly in Matera. We invest in technology and innovation by looking at other markets, but our real added value is our human capital,' Lorusso concludes.