Swarco has closed a transaction to acquire 100% of the shares of the family-owned business Hitex Holdings. The companies of the Hitex group work in the field of road safety: a producer of road marking materials and decorative surfacing products (Hitex Traffic Safety), a contractor for road marking services (L&R Roadlines), and a manufacturer of road marking vehicles and machinery (Somerford Equipment).
“With the Hitex acquisition, we follow our course of seeking market opportunities with companies that are a good fit for us by having strong know-how in their field, a good market penetration, a high reputation, and the background of a family ownership with a corporate culture similar to ours,” says Michael Schuch, Swarco speaker of the board and COO. “The Hitex companies will give us direct access to the road marking systems sector in the UK, helping us to gain a significant market share by introducing our five-decade long expertise in road safety materials.”
The Hitex Group, whose origins date back to 1972 when road marking contractor L&R Roadlines was founded, is based in Ellesmere Port at the banks of River Mersey south of Liverpool. Hitex was owned by four members of the Lloyd family who were looking for an appropriate successor to continue the successful course of the road safety provider. “We are happy to have found with Swarco a family-owned business with a strong know-how in the production of glass beads, road marking materials and the application of line markings”, says Geoff Lloyd. “My family and I are convinced that Swarco will be a good new home for Hitex and its staff, offering growth potential and continuity for our life’s work.”
Harald Mosböck, Swarco’s vice president for road marking systems in Europe and the APMEA regions, sees great potential in developing road safety with high performance road markings in Europe’s second largest economy. “The Hitex Group is very well established in the UK road safety sector and will open the market for Swarco’s top products such as Swarco Solidplus beads and two-component MMA systems. Together we will be able to offer a new level of high-performance road marking systems and give a boost to the driving quality and safety on Britain’s road network.”
