The brand, the know-how and the customer portfolio of General detergents, a brand of the German Henkel, passes to the Sutter Group, a historic leader in detergents that enters the washing machine products market. An operation that in the short term will project Sutter’s turnover over 100 million euros. The deal was signed on May 3 and provides for the transfer of the brand and intellectual property. In the Italian market, Sutter will sell detergents in the packaged consumer goods channel while for professional users such as Ho.re.ca., Large communities, schools and hospitals, it will have the right to develop and sell the General lines in Europe. , with the exception of Germany, Austria and Switzerland where Henkel will continue to sell «Der General», and South America. «The formula and packaging are not transferred – explains Aldo Sutter, president and CEO and fifth generation of the historic SME -. Thanks to our professional division, we have an advantage because we have the skills in-house to create new formulas ».
“This operation is part of the strengthening process that our cleaning division is pursuing in Italy as a strategic market for Henkel where the company wants to continue to invest” says Mara Panajia, General Manager Laundry & Home Care of Henkel Italy. The General line of detergents includes 10 products that have established themselves among the market leaders in the South for their excellent “value for money” ratio. According to the latest estimates, the Italian market for laundry products is worth around 1.2 billion. Once fully operational, Sutter’s offer for the consumer market will exceed 100 references while that for the professional channel will consist of over 400 products. The agreement provides that until the end of September Henkel will be responsible for production and marketing, a period of time that will allow Sutter to prepare the first stocks and make the handover to large-scale distribution customers. “In May 2022, Sutter will be totally independent”, explains the CEO. The industrial repercussions are important for the company which has a plant in Borghetto di Borbera, in the province of Alessandria, which will benefit from massive investments in Industry 4.0 to automate and enhance plants whose production capacity will increase by 75%. Employment is growing with about fifteen entrances because it is foreseen the inclusion in the company of personnel dedicated to the development of the General lines for research and development, marketing and sales. “In these hard times of pandemic we have decided to invest in our country, in our territory. It is time to invest in the real economy. Never as in this period have we understood how much the social and economic well-being of the community are indispensable factors for the generation of value – underlines Sutter -. With General we enter an important segment of household products, which we intend to enhance through the large-scale distribution with which we have consolidated relationships ». 2020 for the Sutter Group closed with revenues of 72 million (+ 6%). The mix sees 40% of the turnover achieved with consumer products, a segment destined to double as a result of the acquisition, and the remaining share with professional products. For 2022, the goal is to exceed 100 million.
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