Two neighboring, family-owned Belgian printing plants are joining forces to create a 120-employee pole. The Joos Group has just acquired Grafische Groep Matthys, a company with 20 employees and sales of 6.5 million euros. Located in Turnhout, in the province of Antwerp, Belgium, the two companies now form an industrial group with sales of 29 million euros. The Matthys site retains its operational autonomy, while the four Matthys brothers Pascal, Filip, Davy and Erik, the third generation to head the company, remain at the helm.
Two printing companies, two specialties
Created around the Group Joos printing company, the Joos family holding specializes in narrow web rotary printing, transactional data processing and secure documents. The group, which employs around 100 people, exports to several European countries as well as Africa, and holds ISO 14298 (print security) and ISO 27001 (personal data) certifications. Today, Joos is the only Belgian printing company recognized as a commercial security operator.
Grafische Groep Matthys is active in large-format sheet-fed offset (74 x 106 cm) and cardboard, and specializes in cold foil finishing (coldfoil), a process mainly used for high-end packaging, covers or POP advertising. With its KBA 106X and Vinfoil Optima SF110MF foil stamping module, it produces sheets for folding carton packaging, book covers, magazine covers, greeting cards and POP displays, and exports a significant proportion of its output to France and the Netherlands.
A buyer to secure the future of the family printing business
For the Matthys brothers, "this decision is the result of a long-term vision." They declare: "We're the third generation to run the company, but with no succession in the family, we felt that finding a buyer was the best way to perpetuate the business."
According to Alex Joos, CEO of the holding company, this takeover aims to "accelerate the growth of Grafische Groep Matthys through investment and market expansion", while benefiting from industrial and commercial synergies with Group Joos. The merger will enable Group Joos to strengthen its presence in the luxury printed packaging market, particularly in France, with a broader technical offering and increased industrial capacity.
Despite the close geographical proximity of the two sites, each will continue to operate independently.
