US-based Star Step acquires Daas and enters the Italian market

The two companies “see significant opportunities to expand DAAS’s established position in the industrial wood coatings market, by drawing on SSPCG’s commercial, technical and manufacturing resources. DAAS’s specialist expertise in formulation and research and development will also be made available to SSPCG’s operating companies in the United States”, the joint statement reads.

Daas will continue to be led by co-founder Carlo Della Toffola, in the role of managing director, whilst co-founder Stefano Antoniazzi will continue to support the company as a strategic adviser.

“This acquisition strengthens Star Step from an industrial and technological perspective and consolidates our position amongst independent manufacturers of industrial coatings at an international level,” says Edoardo Maggini, operating partner at Star Step Performance Coatings Group. “Daas is a world leader in a highly specialised segment, in which it has developed distinctive expertise, and thanks to our infrastructure, it will be able to extend this know-how to broader markets within the wood coatings sector. We are paying close attention to the Italian market, where there is a solid base of leading companies in the coatings sector, and we have an active pipeline of further acquisitions on which we are already working.”

“Joining Star Step represents the natural evolution of the company we have built and nurtured over more than a decade,” emphasise Antoniazzi and Della Toffola – “It provides Daas with the infrastructure and resources needed to seize growth opportunities which, had we pursued them independently, would have taken years to realise, whilst preserving the relationships, working methods and commitment to our employees and customers that have always set the company apart.”

“With Daas, we are bringing into Star Step a company that, from its base in Pordenone, has become a global leader in industrial wood coatings with a consolidated turnover of around 20 million euros,” emphasises Edoardo Maggini, operating partner at Star Step Performance Coatings Group – This is our first investment in Italia: with this transaction, the group’s aggregate turnover exceeds 100 million dollars and it now employs around 250 people. We have acquired 100 per cent of the shares in a deal worth a double-digit figure in millions of euros. All employees will remain with the company and there will be full continuity with the management team, which will continue to lead DAAS. The plan is to grow in specialised sectors adjacent to the timber industry, making the group’s structure available to DAAS, with a expansion programme that includes new local recruitment over the coming months. ‘Italia has companies of high technical calibre in our sector, and we are considering further acquisitions in the country.’