Agidens International and Van den Berg, a BESIX Group subsidiary, are particularly pleased to announce that they have reached a transaction agreement for Agidens Infra Automation (AIA). Established in 1987 as an Agidens division, AIA has grown to become a market leader in automation, remote control, interconnection and intelligent energy management for infrastructures, including locks, movable bridges, tunnels, weirs and pumping stations.
The acquisition by Van den Berg will strengthen AIA's market position and enable it to boost its international expansion as part of BESIX Group. In particular, the integration of AIA's expertise will enable Van den Berg and BESIX Group to equip the infrastructures they design and build with state-of-the-art digital solutions to improve and facilitate their long-term operations and maintenance.
Hedwig Maes, CEO of Agidens: “The complementarity of Agidens Infra Automation and Van den Berg and BESIX Group will result in a stronger value proposition and a clear competitive advantage in the market as a full service partner. Agidens Infra Automation will be able to compete in more complex and larger projects, backed by a renowned civil contractor, further expand the recurring services offering and benefit from a larger workforce and combined expertise.”
Annick Martin, CEO of Van den Berg: “By combining the Agidens Infra Automation’s services with the activities of Van den Berg, we offer our clients considerable added value. We were already building first-class infrastructures: we now offer to make them smarter for the benefit of their users and our clients. We are very pleased to welcome every employee of AIA. Together with Van den Berg and BESIX Group, they will have the opportunity to further expand their extensive expertise.”
The addition of AIA to Van den Berg fits in the rapidly changing trends in public infrastructures. These require greater integration between public works contractors and their digital service offerings to meet the highest technological, environmental and safety standards.
In this field, the collaboration between AIA and Van den Berg and BESIX Group has proven its relevance on several occasions in recent years. This was the case with BESIX Nederland for the installation of first-class equipment on the Princess Beatrix Lock, the Limmel and the Heumen flood barriers in the Netherlands. In collaboration with Van den Berg, AIA also contributed to the realisation of the Liefkenshoek railway tunnel and the thorough modernisation of the Kennedy railway tunnel, in Belgium.
Apart from the opportunities this acquisition brings to AIA, it will also pave the way to further focus and investment in the remaining Agidens International entities.
Hedwig Maes, CEO of Agidens: “This transaction gives Agidens International the possibility to further invest in our ambition to become a European Solutions Provider in the Process Automation and Validation market and achieve sustainable growth within the Oil & Gas, Food &Beverage, Fine Chemicals and Life Sciences industries on an international level. This focused strategy will help bring the company to the next level towards increasing our customer intimacy and market share.”
With offices in Zwijndrecht (Belgium) and Gorinchem (The Netherlands), AIA has 130 quality employees, all of whom will be maintained in their positions when the integration into Van den Berg becomes effective, from mid-September 2021.
The transaction of AIA by Van den Berg is currently subject to customary conditions precedent.
About Agidens Infra Automation
Agidens Infra Automation (AIA) started business in 1987 as part of the Agidens Group and was able to become a strong trustworthy and experienced player in the market for large infrastructure projects in Belgium and the Netherlands. Throughout the years, AIA became a market leader thanks to the combination of automation, electromechanical expertise, maintenance and strong partnerships. Their strong value proposition is based on engineering services that address the complete project lifecycle from design, engineering, system integration all the way through to remote control services. AIA employs 130 people and has offices in Zwijndrecht, Belgium and Gorinchem, the Netherlands.
More information on www.agidens.com/infra
About Agidens
The Belgian company Agidens helps its customers in improving processes by means of specialty advice, engineering, automation solutions and maintenance services. Agidens hereby focusses on the target markets Life Sciences, Food & Beverage, Oil & Gas and (Fine) Chemicals. The engineering and system integration company employs over 570 people and has offices in seven countries: Belgium (Headquarters), The Netherlands, France, Germany, Switzerland, the US and Poland. Ackermans & van Haaren (via AvH Growth Capital NV) and Axe Investments NV are the main shareholders of the company.
More information on www.agidens.com
About Van den Berg
Van den Berg is a subsidiary of BESIX Group with an extensive expertise in energy and data network infrastructures. Its service offering includes the laying of underground and above-ground cables and pipes, horizontal directional drilling, the installation of high-voltage posts and substations, networks and structured cabling systems, fibre optic networks, heating networks, signalling and monitoring systems, house connections, technical tunnel installations and traffic technology.
More information on www.besixvandenberg.com
About BESIX Group
BESIX is a leading Belgian group, based in Brussels and operating in 25 countries and on 5 continents, in the construction, real estate development and concessions sectors. Active since 1909, its iconic achievements include Dubai's Burj Khalifa, the tallest tower in the world, buildings of the European Parliament in Brussels as well as the Grand Egyptian Museum, on the Giza pyramids plateau.
The Group's engineering department enables BESIX to carry out complex and unique projects, particularly in terms of technical and environmental aspects.
More information on www.besix.com