Headquartered in Ratingen, Germany, and founded in 1880, Kuhmichel is a family-owned distributor of blasting and abrasive media. The company operates 11 facilities with 120 employees across Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Austria, Hungary, Turkey and South Africa, providing customers with local access to a comprehensive product portfolio and deep technical expertise. Kuhmichel’s product range includes white and brown fused alumina, garnet sand, steel grit, stainless steel shot, cut wire, as well as blasting media made of plastic, glass, ceramic and organic materials. From its operations in Ballenstedt, Germany, Kuhmichel is also the largest recycler of abrasives in Europe, helping customers achieve sustainability goals while strengthening supply chain security.
SurfacePrep is a leading provider of abrasive solutions and surface preparation services. Headquartered in Byron Center, Michigan, USA, the company is backed by Nautic Partners.
“The acquisition of Kuhmichel represents a key strategic step in expanding our position in Europe and establishing SurfacePrep as the leading distributor of abrasive media and value-added services across the continent,” said Jon Dodge, President of SurfacePrep International. “Kuhmichel’s brand, technical expertise, and multinational presence are unmatched in Europe and will accelerate our ability to build a scalable, connected platform to better serve our customers. This acquisition is highly complementary, and we are excited to welcome so many talented Kuhmichel employees to the SurfacePrep team.”
“This partnership reflects the strong alignment between the SurfacePrep and Kuhmichel teams in how we operate and serve our customers,” said Mike Currie, CEO of SurfacePrep. “We are thrilled to welcome the Kuhmichel team to the SurfacePrep family.”
Dirk Grundei, departing CEO and shareholder of Kuhmichel Abrasiv GmbH, added: “We look forward to capitalizing on the combined growth opportunities in both Europe and North America, while preserving what has made Kuhmichel special—our people, our brand, and our strong commitment to quality, expertise, and long-term customer relationships. I would like to particularly thank the Livingstone deal team for their unparalleled professional support and detail-oriented execution of this transaction. Thanks to their outstanding commitment, comprehensive transaction structuring and excellent negotiation support, this transaction was successfully completed in the best interests of the selling shareholders.”
Johannes Faber, Partner at Livingstone, commented: “It was a great pleasure to advise the shareholders and management team of Kuhmichel, the European experts for abrasives, on this complex transaction across multiple entities and jurisdictions. The transatlantic combination opens great opportunities in the future for all parties and the potential to further leverage Kuhmichel’s recycling capabilities as well as expand into new geographies.”
This transaction once again highlights Livingstone’s expertise in managing M&A mandates involving succession planning for German mid-sized companies. The shareholders and the management team were advised together with the legal advisors from Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer LLP, Dr Wilhelm Nolting-Hauff and Alessandro Saitta.
