EMPOWERING MITTELSTAND

At INDUS we have been generating sustained growth from a diversified portfolio of Mittelstand companies since 1989.

We know how to grow the power of Mittelstand

About us

Our focus at INDUS is to buy and grow businesses with unique engineering capabilities. We are proud to understand technology in more detail than many other investors, even if operating in a niche market.

We ensure that the leaders of our portfolio companies act like true entrepreneurs to grow their businesses and can rely on our evergreen perspective as long-term investors. With our track record of finding tailored succession solutions for family-owned businesses, we are a highly reliable partner for company sellers.

EMPOWERING MITTELSTAND is our Growth Strategy.

EMPOWERING MITTELSTAND

Our strategy

Our strategy EMPOWERING MITTELSTAND will lead to substantial inorganic growth through acquisitions and sustained organic growth for our existing portfolio.

The strategy will give our leader-entrepreneurs the room to generate sustained growth and allow formerly family-owned businesses to dynamically develop and secure their future.

To achieve this, we have defined three growth drivers:
1. Acquisitions
2. Engineering competence
3. Internationalization.

We invest in acquisitions

Acquisitions

Until 2030, we will invest over 500 million euros in acquisitions. We will focus on larger growth targets at the portfolio level. However, we are open to discussions with all entrepreneurs who are considering selling their company.

We drive growth through our engineering expertise

Engineering expertise

Thanks to our deep engineering competence, our acquisition focus will continue to be on complex industrial technology for our three segments

• Engineering
• Infrastructure
• Materials Solutions.

We are further integrating technology fields within each segment to refine our perspective on product and market-driven growth opportunities. Actively enhancing our capabilities in each segment will further strengthen our ability to drive acquisitions.

We are internationalizing our growth

Internationalization

We have defined three fields of action for our global growth: For the acquisition of new portfolio companies, we are extending our search area across all of Europe. For add-on acquisitions of our existing portfolio companies, we will search globally. In addition, for the organic growth of our existing investments, we will put a strong focus on further internationalization and invest accordingly.  

Leadership

Board of Management

We know how to grow the power of Mittelstand.
Dr.-Ing. Johannes Schmidt
CEO
Rudolf Weichert
CFO
Gudrun Degenhart
COO Materials Solutions
Dr. Jörn Großmann
COO Infrastructure
Axel Meyer
COO Engineering

At INDUS, we act on our purpose

Our purpose

At INDUS, we know how to grow the power of Mittelstand.

We believe in entrepreneurs and lead our investments successfully, values-based and reliably.

We love engineering and only invest in companies with excellent products, processes and services.

We trust our people to contribute to our success. This is how we create a future-proof working environment.

As international investors, we generate sustained growth and offer a long-term, above- average value perspective for our shareholders.

EMPOWERING MITTELSTAND.

We increase value through responsible actions

Sustainability

INDUS stands for the promise of reliable and long-term support for our portfolio companies. We believe that long-term corporate success can only be achieved by harmonizing economically, socially and ecologically sustainable activities.

Sustainable action generates competitive advantage, increases the value of the company and strengthens the corporate culture.

EMPOWERING MITTELSTAND is our growth strategy

The strategy in 120 seconds

How we are empowering Mittelstand

Statements on INDUS

“We love engineering and have many people with relevant engineering experience on our Board of Management. We are convinced that an understanding of technology and talking about these topics at eye level is a very important prerequisite for our success.”

Dr.-Ing. Johannes SchmidtCEO, INDUS

“INDUS is an experienced sparring partner that supports us in achieving our international expansion goals and technological developments with strategic advice and selective investments. We are pleased to have a strong partner at our side who is always open to our plans.”

Daniel EichertManaging Director, eltherm Group
elterm Eichert

“We act as sparring partners, helping our leaders of our portfolio companies design and implement a tailor-made strategy process for their business."

Gudrun Degenhart COO Materials Solutions, INDUS

"INDUS – Supporting steady growth.“

Christian Boxleitner CEO, Mesutronic
Christian-Boxleitner
Further information

Learn more about us and how we work

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We are generating sustained growth from a diversified portfolio of Mittelstand companies. 

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About us

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We know how to grow the power of Mittelstand and ensure our leaders act like true entrepreneurs. 

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Axel Meyer

COO Engineering
Axel Meyer (German citizen, born 1968) has been a member of the INDUS Board of Management since October 2017.

Until joining INDUS, he held various management positions at Schuler AG, most recently as Managing Director of Schuler Pressen and Head of the Service Division of the Schuler Group, Goeppingen, Germany.

Previously, Axel Meyer worked as a member of the Board of Management of the international management consultancy IMAGIN Prof. Bochmann AG, Eppstein im Taunus, Germany. He started his professional career in the Schuler Group's Solid Forming Division, initially in global sales and later as Division Manager.

Axel Meyer studied industrial engineering in Germany and the USA and earned a Master of Mergers & Acquisitions (LL.M.) at the Frankfurt School of Finance & Management while working. 

Gudrun Degenhart

COO Materials Solutions
Gudrun Degenhart (German citizen, born 1970) has been a member of the Board of Management of INDUS since October 2023.

She has more than 20 years of experience in the management and development of portfolio companies in Europe, USA and the Asia-Pacific regions.

Before joining INDUS, Gudrun Degenhart was CEO for the German portfolio companies of the international service group ISS. She previously worked for the thyssenkrupp Group, including as CEO of the international business unit for special lifts and as CEO of Materials Western Europe and Asia-Pacific. She gained experience in medium-sized companies as a board member of the construction technology company Schöck.

A graduate in business administration, she began her career by building up the Central and Eastern European activities of the construction specialist Lindner Group. 

Dr. Jörn Großmann

COO Infrastructure
Dr. Jörn Großmann (German citizen, born 1968) has been a member of the INDUS Board of Management since January 2019.

Up until joining INDUS, he worked for the Dutch group Aalberts Industries, with his last position being the sole managing director of Impreglon, Lüneburg, Germany.

He previously held various positions at the Georgsmarienhütte Group, initially becoming managing director of Mannstaedt, Troisdorf, Germany and later managing director of GMH Edelstahl Service Center Burg and GMH Engineering. Before Dr. Großmann became the managing director of Buderus Feinguss, Moers, Germany, he worked as a development engineer and as a technical director for Doncasters Precision Castings, Bochum, Germany.

He studied material sciences and earned a doctorate in the field of natural sciences.

Dr. -Ing. Johannes Schmidt

CEO
Dr. -Ing. Johannes Schmidt (German citizen, born 1961) has been a member of the Board of Management of INDUS since January 2006. He has assumed the position of CEO since July 2018.

Dr. -Ing. Schmidt was previously the sole managing director of ebm-papst Landshut, Germany, a manufacturer of ventilation motors and fans. During his tenure there, his main achievements included advancing the development of new product platforms and the internationalization of production sites.

Dr. -Ing. Schmidt began his career at Richard Bergner, a manufacturer of electrical instruments from Schwabach, Germany. He initially led product development before rising to the position of managing director during his 12 years at the company.

Schmidt, who studied mathematics, gained an engineering doctorate in mechanics from the Technical University of Darmstadt. 

Rudolf Weichert

CFO
Rudolf Weichert (German citizen, born 1963) is the CFO of INDUS.

Before joining the INDUS Board of Management in June 2012, he was a Partner at KPMG for nine years. He spent three of these years in Detroit, Michigan, United States, where he worked mainly with companies in the engineering, and materials trading industries.

Mr. Weichert, who holds a masters degree in business administration, worked for KPMG for about 20 years, primarily in the firm’s Duesseldorf office, where he worked mainly with multinational manufacturing corporations.