Permanent presence in UK: Wielton becomes sole owner of Lawrence David
The Wielton Group, the Poland–based manufacturer of semi-trailers, is moving further in extending its activities across Europe. It has purchased the remaining 25 per cent stake of Lawrence David, the British major manufacturer of semi-trailers. As a result, Wielton will become the sole owner of the UK entity and strengthen its presence in the island road haulage market.
In September 2018, the Wielton Group purchased 75 per cent of the share of Lawrence David, the Britain-based manufacturer of semi-trailers. Four years later, in late August 2022, the Polish company acquired the remaining stake for 0 British pounds. The full ownership of Lawrence David is another step in strengthening the Group’s position in Europe following the acquisition of Spanish Guillén Desarrollos Industriales in February 2022. It is also the next stage in the consolidation of the British brand within the Wielton Group.
“Great Britain is a strong market with a potential of around 22,000 units per year and one of the key markets for our sales. This fact underpinned the 2018 decision to acquire Lawrence David. At that time, acquiring a strong entity on the British market, additionally enabling Wielton to export key components, which are the chassis produced in Wieluń, gave the opportunity for a permanent presence in one of the most important markets in Europe and the optimisation of the use of new production possibilities launched at that time in Wielton. This acquisition was crucial from the perspective of building the European strength of the Wielton Group,” said Paweł Szataniak, CEO of Wielton.
Lawrence David
Lawrence David is a company with almost 50 years of history, operating in the British solid trailer and semi-trailer market. It is the vice-leader of the trailer market with a share of approximately 13 per cent. In 2021, Lawrence David sold around 3,900 units (an increase by 14 per cent year-to-year), which translated into almost 392 million zloty in revenues (an increase by 32 per cent year-to-year). The United Kingdom is the Group’s third largest market of operations (after France and Poland), accounting for almost 16 per cent of revenues in 2021.
“Today, Lawrence David under the Wielton Group’s wings strengthens its position on the British market. Looking at the results for the first quarter of 2022, we can safely say that integration within the Group brings a number of benefits to the brand, which translated into significant increases,” added Paweł Szataniak. Since 2018, the British company has implemented a number of investments in automation and robotisation of production. This resulted in expanding its product portfolio and even better tailored the offer to customers’ needs. In turn, the Group entered Great Britain with a strong position as the second market leader and a recognized brand, and at the same time found a stable recipient of the chassis manufactured in Wieluń. Thanks to the exchange of know-how between the companies, the Wielton Group has unique, innovative products and solutions limiting the negative impact of transport on the environment.