Equistone portfolio company SF-Filter maintains growth trajectory and expands footprint through acquisitions of Filter Center and Filter Agri

SF-Filter Group ("SF-Filter"), in which funds advised by Equistone Partners Europe have held a majority stake since September 2022, is continuing its growth trajectory with two further add-ons. The Swiss group is significantly expanding its position as a pan-European sales platform with the takeover of Filter Center, one of Italy’s largest independent wholesalers in the mobile and industrial filtration market. SF-Filter has also acquired Filter Agri, a start-up specialising in agricultural filter solutions.

With a broad product portfolio as well as end customers and resellers from more than 60 countries, SF-Filter has positioned itself as a major one-stop-shop for filtration. Founded in 1962 and based in Bachenbuelach, Zurich, the group provides filter solutions for a range of applications in areas including air, fuel, hydraulics, pneumatics, liquids, dust extraction, and air conditioning technology.

Since September 2022, funds advised by Equistone have owned a majority stake in SF-Filter, supporting its internationalisation and growth trajectory. Following the takeover of Busse & Kuntze in October 2023, SF-Filter made two further strategically important acquisitions at the beginning of this year. With the acquisition of the filter specialist Ostholte and its former sales partner Hermans Brems, SF-Filter has strengthened its market position in Germany and Belgium, as well as driven forward digitalisation towards a cloud-only company. The group is currently also building a 17,000 square-metre logistics centre in Immendingen, south-west Germany, with the new facility ranking among the largest, most efficient and most modern in the industry and representing an important milestone in the move towards offering 24-hour accessibility to all customers in Europe.

Through the acquisition of Filter Center, SF-Filter has secured direct access to the attractive and fast-growing Italian market. Filter Center, headquartered near Parma, has been one of the largest independent providers of mobile and industrial filtration solutions in the Italian filter market since its foundation in 1992. The acquisition will provide SF-Filter with Filter Center’s comprehensive expertise in the compressed air segment and the platform to develop its brand in the Italian market, as well as strengthening the group’s reseller business through intensified cooperations and facilitating the roll-out of the SF-Filter service portfolio across Italy.

“With the acquisition of Filter Center as a market leader in Italy, we are opening up a new, extremely promising sales region for our group,” explains Daniel Infanger, CEO of SF-Filter. "Both companies have impressive synergies in their business models and Filter Center also brings extensive know-how in a sub-area of industrial filtration. Important factors with which we will once again significantly expand our group's already leading position within the industry. We are very much looking forward to working with the motivated and determined local management team at Filter Center and to achieving new successes with a shared vision," Infanger adds.

"SF-Filter has developed excellently since the Equistone funds acquired a majority stake two years ago and has continuously expanded its international position as a pre-eminent distribution platform specialising in filtration through targeted acquisitions. With the two most recent acquisitions, SF-Filter has not only successfully entered the Italian market but is also significantly driving forward consolidation as an important player in the highly fragmented European filtration market," explains David Zahnd, partner in Equistone's Zurich office.

Enrico Losa, Managing Director of Filter Center, adds: "By integrating into the group, Filter Center gains access to the broadest product range in the industry, which creates new growth opportunities for our company. With the strong brand and the excellent reputation of SF-Filter behind us, we are ideally positioned to further expand our market position. What is particularly valuable for us is the access to the first-class, group-wide service portfolio and the SF-Filter private label brand, which enables us to offer our customers the best service and high quality."