Lapin Kumi and Colmec form joint tyre services group

The Finnish Lapin Kumi and Swedish Colmec tyre businesses are forming what they call “a new sustainable and customer centric tyre services group”. This step follows a similar move by fellow Swedish firms Centrala Gummi and Colmec earlier in the spring. The transaction is expected to close in the third quare 2024, subject to customary closing conditions.

The new group’s operations in Finland will be centred around Lapin Kumi, while Colmec represent the group in Sweden, Norway and Poland. The combined group is expected to reach a turnover of 250 million and 700 full-time equivalent staff by the end of 2024. The transaction is backed by leading Nordic private equity firm Norvestor. Following the transaction, Norvestor will remain as the majority shareholder in the group, followed by the management and key employees of Lapin Kumi and Colmec. Looking forward, “additional platform companies will later join the group to enable further expansion”.

“In the future, the new group’s growth in Finland will be centred around Lapin Kumi. The first significant change will be the integration of Colmec’s Finnish operations into Lapin Kumi. Colmec Oy, Bandaris Oy, and Pentep Oy will become subsidiaries of Lapin Kumi. There are also other growth plans in the Finnish market in the pipeline, but it’s premature to discuss them at this stage”, Ville Ruokanen, CEO of Lapin Kumi, explained.

According to the cooperating firms, the combined operations centres on “circularity and customer-focus”. In practice that means the new group will build “a circular tyre service offering that will support the full tyre life cycle – from selling new tyres, to swapping and servicing tyres, to extending their life with retreading and then ultimately recycling end-of-life tyres that can no longer be used.”

Secondly, the new group intends to build “a more service-minded and customer-centric alternative to other industry actors”. To that end, Lapin Kumi and Colmec both reportedly draw upon “exceptional customer satisfaction and strong local relations” and the joint group can now “better serve local and national customers with better coverage”.

In addition, the group report that they will “invest heavily in digitization and more convenient customer experience.”

“Lapin Kumi has grown rapidly into a national player in recent years. With this transaction, we can accelerate our growth even further as a new bigger group and invest more heavily in sustainability and digitization. Norvestor has a great track record of developing and growing family businesses. They bring resources, insights, and proven operational models from various industries”, Ville Ruokanen, CEO of Lapin Kumi, continued.

“The establishment of this new group is a landmark transaction to create a new more sustainable and customer-oriented player in an established industry with high emissions and varying levels of service quality. We recognized Lapin Kumi as the right partner due to its strong market presence, high service quality, and potential for continuing the high pace of growth in the coming years”, said Ian Poppelman, partner at Norvestor and chairman of Colmec.

Lapin Kumi is a family business founded in 1947 in Rovaniemi. The current CEO, Ville Ruokanen, represents the third generation in the business, which began with his grandfather Veikko Keskiruokanen repairing rubber boots. The company operates in 14 locations, with a separate retreading plant in Rovaniemi. Lapin Kumi employs 207 permanent staff, and during peak tyre changing seasons, more than 300 are employed by the firm. Last year, the company’s revenue was €56 million. Ville Ruokanen co-owns Lapin Kumi with his uncle, Risto Keskiruokanen.

Colmec is a fast-growing OEM independent tire services provider in Sweden, Norway, Finland and Poland. The company is also known as a retreading operation, which actively helps tyre owners prolong the life of their tyres.

Norvestor is a private equity firm focusing on mid-market buyouts in the Nordic region with offices in Oslo, Stockholm, Helsinki, Copenhagen, Berlin, and Luxembourg. The team has worked together since 1991 making it “one of the most experienced private equity teams in the Nordics”.

David Boman appointed CEO of new tyre service group

With Colmec, Centrala Gummi, and several local workshops have announced they are joining forces to form a new tyre service group – David Boman has now been appointed CEO of the new group.

His extensive industry experience includes time as the CEO of Yokohama Scandinavia, and prior to that as CEO of Pirelli Tyre Nordic and Däckia. Boman will assume his position on 1 August 2024.

“We are very pleased to announce David Boman as the new Group CEO,” said Ian Poppelman, chairman of the new group. “We believe he will be a strong team leader and drive our strategy to establish an independent Northern European tire service group with a strong customer focus and a clear sustainability profile. David is a senior leader with commercial focus, a deep understanding of the industry, and significant experience from international organizations.”

“It is with great joy that I take on this exciting challenge, and I look forward to getting to know our new team and our customers,” David Boman commented, adding: “…we see great opportunities to sharpen and modernize the offering in the market to create value for our current and future customers.”

In addition, Patrick Sjölin, who is currently the CEO of Colmec, has “personally conveyed his decision to the chairman of the board and the board of directors to step down from his operational role.” In Boman’s commencement in August, he will transition to an advisory role, where he will continue to support the new group’s journey forward.

“The entire board and I would like to thank Patrick Sjölin for 14 years of loyal and dedicated service at Colmec and wish him all the best in the future,” said Ian Poppelman, concluding: “We are grateful to continue benefiting from his advice and long experience.”