Germany’s Lotter expands with rebar distributor acquisition

Southern German steel distribution group Gebr. Lotter KG has made another acquisition by taking Krönlein, a distributor of rebar and building materials headquartered in Schweinfurt.

Lotter bought the shares of Krönlein from the former owners in autumn last year. The managing partner of Krönlein, Ulrich Herrmann, will continue to manage the business together with Sven Bobe, who joined the company in 2019. The previous owner families will also remain closely linked to the company as silent partners, Lotter tells Kallanish.

In the field of reinforcing steel, the network of bending shops within the Lotter group creates the possibility of supplying construction sites throughout southern and central Germany, the company says. In particular, a coherent sales and delivery area is being created from Lake Constance via Frankfurt to Berlin, it notes. Through the partnership, the Krönlein operation is gaining access to extensive storage and processing capacities, Lotter adds.

The Lotter group has 1,600 employees at over 40 locations in Germany and in the last financial year generated sales of more than €500 million ($556m). Its main areas of activity are rebar and other steels, products for building services, flooring, steel doors and gates and liquefied gas.