Parexlanko and Sika France have been realizing synergies in various ways, proving that their combination is a strong force in the market.
Sika and Parexlanko are two similar companies in terms of size in France, with more than 600 employees each and 12 plants together in total, that both enjoy a strong brand recognition. It was clear from the beginning that the main focus would be on identifying the common strengths in culture, product portfolio, distribution networks, and of course, expertise.
Therefore, a committee was created to help identify, manage, and monitor the synergies. Once a month, teams from Sales, Marketing, R&D and Operations meet to follow-up on the plan, measure the accomplishments, and celebrate the successes. And eighteen months later, there are many.
The company is now under one management and Pascal Malafosse, General Manager of Sika France and Parexlanko, praises, “the great collaboration between the two entities. Thanks to the team spirit and the willingness to be stronger together, we are building a strong Sika entity with the Sika and Parexlanko brands”.
In addition, the optimization of the operational footprint has been initiated by choosing the most efficient Sika or Parexlanko location for production. Customers who could benefit from the two brands were contacted, and business successes are ongoing. A good example is the “Le Moustoir” jobsite. Thanks to complementary solutions from Parexlanko and Sika, the companies were able to provide a full system proposal, which was chosen by the architect. This would not have been possible without the combined effort of the sales teams. Both sales teams identified more than 500 distributors who could benefit from the Sika/Parex cross-selling solutions, representing 20% of the French expected synergies, and they are on track to achieving them.
Procurement and operations from both teams also worked closely together to identify products that could now be produced locally thanks to the Parexlanko plants, rather than being sourced in other Sika countries or outside. A study was also performed to define the best production location for the different product range, with expected savings of close to EUR 500,000.
When asked what the main challenges in such an integration are, Stephane Le Fay, Director of Marketing of Parexlanko, answers, “the main challenge we have been facing is the difficulty of staying focused. With all the opportunities we identified, it’s easy to dilute our forces. To be successful you must prioritize and have smart goals. Thankfully, both teams are experienced, knowledgeable, and driven by results. Sika and Parexlanko is the perfect combination to overcome the challenges we face in the market!”
With 88 years of Sika in France, and more than 40 for Parexlanko, the two companies have strong roots in the market, and are joining their forces to build a long and sustainable future together.
Stephane Le Fay - Marketing Director, Technical Mortars
“From a marketing point of view, we have the opportunity in France to merge two big historical companies with strong positions in different market segments with high notoriety brands. The integration will allow us to touch a large panel of market segments and all the customer segments, choosing the best brand to meet the needs of each market segment and customer segment. As we have a huge number of solutions in France but also in other countries, we can easily pick solutions in the Sika and Parexlanko product portfolio to offer the perfect solution for each customer. Our challenge now is to train the teams and create the “one spirit” mindset. I’m really confident that we will be successful thanks to the good exchange of information and expertise between the teams one year after the acquisition.”