21 Invest is pleased to announce the signing of a binding agreement to acquire a stake in Trime, a group headquartered in Cassinetta di Lugagnano (Milan), the European leader and one of the world’s leading players in the development and production of lighting towers for construction sites, mines and live events.

Trime, led by the Chairman Andrea Fontanella and CEO Paolo Tacconi, is a highly innovative industrial company. The company has always been focused on the development of high-tech lighting towers with a natural orientation towards international markets. The company counts on a workforce of 200 employees and in 2022 expects to reach 90 million euro in consolidated sales. Today the company generates about 40% of turnover from products powered by renewable energy sources (hybrid, electric and solar) and more than 90% is generated abroad, in particular in countries where Trime has a direct branch, such as the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and the United States and reaching customers in more than 30 countries worldwide. Starting from 2017, Trime has reinforced its core business of lighting towers with mobile generators through the Tekno Proget brand, leveraging its know-how in renewable energy also in the high-end generator market.

Strong growth trends for the lighting tower market are expected thanks to the growing attention to worker safety in construction sites, which is improved thanks to proper lighting, and the replacement of traditional lighting towers powered with diesel with “green” ones which, in addition to reducing CO2 emissions and noise pollution, are more efficient.

Trime has 4 production sites in Italy equipped with the latest technology. The company has developed an extremely efficient business model which allows it to guarantee a high level of service for its customers, with excellent quality standards, together with a high level of product customization also thanks to the flexibility obtained through the export of certain production phases.

21 Invest will add its competencies and strategic approach, developed over the course of 30 years of activity, supporting the founder and management team’s entrepreneurial tradition, to allow Trime to affirm its leadership position, and continuing to invest in technology and innovation.

The ambitious long term growth strategy includes a significant increase in turnover thanks to international expansion, particularly in the American and Australian markets and will be aimed at creating a global leader in its industry.

The current management team will continue leading the company’s development with Chairman Andrea Fontanella and CEO Paolo Tacconi.

Alessandro Benetton, Chairman and Founder of 21 Invest, comments: «We are delighted to support Trime’s next phase of development. Backing an entrepreneur and a management team of a company that over the years has shown high potential is the basis of our investment strategy. We want to continue to support Italian excellence by investing in highly innovative companies that are attentive to both environmental and social sustainability. I firmly believe that the synergy between Trime and 21 Invest will allow the company to further strengthen its leadership position in the sector, pursuing ambitious both organic and external growth strategies».

Andrea Fontanella, President of Trime, affirms: «The collaboration with 21 Invest will allow us to keep enriching our commercial offer with new and innovative products. Our focus remains on the energy efficiency of our products and the safety of customers who employ them. Our client relations are focused on the cooperation and development of products and solutions that can help them execute their activities».
Paolo Tacconi, CEO of Trime, declares: «This deal allows us to plan our long-term growth and support the investments necessary to execute the development project of Trime. In addition, it will enable us to renew and strengthen the group’s organization and production and to reach our goals, including our ESG plan».

Paolo Tacconi, CEO of Trime, declares: «This deal allows us to plan our long-term growth and support the investments necessary to execute the development project of Trime. In addition, it will enable us to renew and strengthen the group’s organization and production and to reach our goals, including our ESG plan».

Wise Equity specializes in managing closed-end private equity funds that invest in small and medium-sized companies with a focus on companies with leadership positions in their niche and two main goals: to increase critical mass through "build-up" operations and to foster international development. Wise Equity entered Trime's capital in 2019 and, together with Andrea Fontanella and the management team, has built a solid path of acquisitions that has led the Group to become a European leader. Luigi Vagnozzi and Alessio Riccioni, Wise's Partner and Investment Manager respectively, affirm: «We are proud of the work done together with the management team and strongly believe that the Group has all the right cards to continue its growth path in international markets together with its new partner 21 Invest».