Klubb has confirmed the acquisition of the assets and business of the refuelling equipment division of France's Titan Aviation, in partnership with its minority shareholder Yano of Japan.
Renamed Titan Aero, the business builds a range of refuelling trucks for private and commercial aviation as well as military applications.
The deal was negotiated in principle last October with the Commercial Court of Villefranche-sur-Saône which judged the Klubb deal to be the better of two offers for the business that it had received and accepted. It completed any regulatory phase in February and has now been completed. The two investors have appointed Laurent Pourprix as president, given his involvement in proposing the link up and the fact that he has worked with Klubb and Yano to get the deal over the line.
The deal is finalised (L-R) Shoichi Yano of Yano, Laurent Pourprix of Titan Aero and Julien Bourrellis of Klubb
Klubb and Yano have acquired the business complete with its 180 employees, main plant in Arnas - on the north side of Villefranche-sur-Saône - as well as a facility and offices in Aix-en-Provence and a small operation in India. Revenues last year were around €20 million, 80 percent of which came from exports. The current operation was founded in 1955 but can trace its roots back to 1883 under its former name of Groupe Pourprix.
One of Titan’s electric refuelling tankers
A statement from the company said: “This is fantastic news for all 180 employees, both in France and overseas, as well as for our civilian and military customers. The new shareholders are dedicated to safeguarding all the current activities of the group, ensuring that the new entity solidifies its position as a leader in the international niche market for civilian and military refuelling equipment."
"One ambition is to become the Number one in Europe. Our objective is crystal clear: To make Titan Aero Group the unquestioned leader in low-carbon refuelling in Europe. Simultaneously, the aim is to bolster its presence in significant international markets and solidify its status as a preferred partner for European armed forces. It will have the valuable backing and expertise of the Yano Family Group, an established player in the supply equipment market in Southeast Asia.”
A more unusual Titan product More about Klubb
Klubb is well known to most of our readers and was launched in late 2015, when founder Julien Bourrellis decided to start manufacturing van mounted platforms himself, having previously purchased the Time France distribution and mounting business from Time Versalift through an MBO. In the past few years, Klubb has acquired the assets of French manufacturers Comilev and Egi, followed by its UK distributor CPL in 2018, its Belgian distributor Mondia Wallonie in 2021, Italian manufacturer Isoli in 2022 and earlier this year Hematec in Germany.
In 2021 private equity firm Andera Partners took a large minority stake in Klubb with founder Julien Bourrellis retaining an estimated 60 percent holding. Today the group has revenues in the region of €200 million with around 650 employees.
More about Yano
Yano is based in Fukuoka - on the northern edge of Kyushu Island, north east of Nagasaki - and has revenues in the region of €85 million with 550 employees. The business was established in 1916 when Koichi Yano built Japan’s oldest domestically produced car, the Arrow. It added trucks in the 1920s, and from 1953 specialised in special body commercial vehicles including refrigerated trucks and refuelling tankers. The company is still family run under the leadership of chief executive Shoichi Yano.
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