Latour acquires Armstrong in Canada and continues its expansion in North America
Investment AB Latour (publ) has, through its wholly-owned subsidiary Bemsiq AB, acquired 100 per cent of the shares in The Armstrong Monitoring Corp. (Armstrong). The company employs 60 people, generates annual revenue of 9 MCAD (FY2024), and delivers a profit level in line with Latour’s financial target.
Founded in 1981, Armstrong designs, develops, manufactures, and services proprietary monitors, systems, transmitters, sensors, and accessories for gas detection applications across commercial and industrial sectors. Headquartered in Ottawa, Canada, with manufacturing facilities on-site, the company serves a wide customer base throughout North America. Armstrong provides an extensive range of gas detection solutions, positioning itself as a one-stop shop for its customers. Key application areas include parking garages, warehouses, service bays, waste and water treatment facilities, manufacturing environments, and more. The company also introduces innovative solutions to the market, such as exchangeable gas sensor modules, which reduce long-term costs and enhance serviceability and sustainability.
Bemsiq has established a strong position within the building automation field device market in Europe and North America in recent years. The addition of Armstrong further strengthens Bemsiq’s product portfolio with a comprehensive gas detection offering. Armstrong will operate within the Bemsiq Group as a wholly owned subsidiary of Greystone Energy Systems Inc.
"We want to give our warmest welcome to all Armstrong employees. We have known and followed Armstrong for many years and are impressed by their innovative solutions and growth journey in the gas detection market. The complementary product lines between Greystone and Armstrong offer significant new growth opportunities for Bemsiq from a product and application perspective. In addition, we have the ability to take the Armstrong products around the world through our subsidiaries in Dubai, India, Singapore and Malaysia. This is now Bemsiq’s fourth acquisition in North America and we are looking forward to continuing our expansion in the region”, says Mikael Johnsson Albrektsson, CEO at Bemsiq Group.
“We are thrilled to become part of the Bemsiq Group family of companies. This partnership provides us with an exciting opportunity to accelerate our development initiatives, expand our market presence, and bring a broader, more integrated value proposition to Armstrong’s loyal customer base. We are confident that, with Bemsiq’s support, we can unlock new growth opportunities and continue delivering innovative and reliable solutions in gas detection”, say co-CEOs and owners Joanne Johnson and Rod Sprules.
As an effect of the acquisition, the net debt (excl. IFRS 16) of the Latour Group increases to approximately SEK 13.5 billion compared to the net debt level at the end of September 2024, all else equal.
Gothenburg, December 12, 2024
INVESTMENT AB LATOUR (PUBL)
Johan Hjertonsson, CEO
For further information, please contact:
Mikael J Albrektsson, CEO Bemsiq AB, +46 733 23 3606
Tobias Rådegård, Head of Business Development, Bemsiq AB, +46 730 91 3155
Robin Drummond, CEO Greystone and Head of Bemsiq North America, +1 (506) 871 8711
Bemsiq AB, with headquarters in Gothenburg, Sweden, has an annual turnover of SEK 2.0 billion SEK and employs about 600 persons. Bemsiq consists of a group of innovative and fast-growing companies providing products in building automation and metering and is one of seven wholly-owned business areas within the Latour Group.
Investment AB Latour is a mixed investment company consisting primarily of a wholly-owned industrial operations and an investment portfolio of listing holdings in which Latour is the principal owner or one of the principal owners. The investment portfolio consists of ten substantial holdings with a market value of SEK 90 billion as of 30 November, 2024. The wholly-owned industrial operations have an annual turnover of SEK 27 billion.