Highlights
- Strategic acquisitions have enabled Noventis Safety to expand into the US and Europe, as well as into complementary verticals
- Talent has been crucial to success, with Inflexion’s international networks accelerating expansion into China and India
- Commercial, technology and leadership investment has helped integrate acquisitions quickly, digitise acquired products and build a scalable platform for future growth
Acquisitions can be transformational, but growing internationally requires more than just acquisitions. From commercial development to leadership to supply chains, Noventis Safety is combining multiple growth levers to accelerate international expansion.
Inflexion has helped Noventis Safety drive these multiple growth levers: acquisitions, business development, supply chain and logistics, and management and culture.
It is an incredible journey, with Robert Campbell, CEO, leading the business to expand Noventis into complementary markets, strengthen the international footprint and deliver double-digit growth.
Acquiring international growth
Inflexion supported UK fire safety testing specialist Detectortesters to wholly acquire US-based System Distributors Inc. as part of its 2021 investment into the business. Since then, the enlarged firm has rebranded to Noventis Safety, made further acquisitions, solidified its US position, pivoted to a digital offering, and entered a new complementary vertical – all helping to achieve double-digit growth rates.
Acquisitions have been central to Noventis' international growth strategy, but each has been specifically chosen to add complementary capabilities rather than simply increase scale.
With Inflexion’s support, Noventis has completed a further four acquisitions to date – one in Ireland and three in the US – expanding geographic and product range. The acquisitions have both solidified the company’s presence in key markets and helped it expand into new niches.
We can buy a lot of similar businesses in different countries, but it isn’t very strategic. So we considered what other areas to tap into within niche markets. We visited a lot of exhibitions and saw the testing requirements for flow tests within the fire safety sector.
System Distributors Inc., acquired during the initial transaction, was in fact previously Noventis' US distributor. The transaction strengthened the company's presence in North America and established a platform for future expansion. Subsequent acquisitions broadened the strategy further. Hose Monster brought Noventis into the complementary flow testing market, while Global Vision reinforced its position in wet testing. Most recently, the acquisition of TSI Flowmeters added complementary technology and product synergies in precision flow and pressure measurement.
"We identified Hose Monster as similar to Noventis but in the wet testing space," Robert explains. "It's a complementary market and regulatory drivers. Noventis are leaders in dry testing, and now we're establishing ourselves in wet testing."
Building leadership to scale abroad
Scaling successfully across markets also required a leadership team that could combine group-wide experience with local market knowledge
"It taught us we didn't have the right team in place," Robert recalls. "Inflexion were really important in the early days. Internally we were being stretched across many areas of the business.''
With Inflexion's support, Noventis strengthened its executive team by recruiting leaders with extensive M&A experience, enabling the business to become increasingly self-sufficient as it scaled.
Everyone brought on board has experience in M&A, which has really helped us become more self-sufficient in this area.
Leadership development has extended internationally. As the business has expanded into Asia Pacific, Inflexion has supported the recruitment of experienced regional leaders and commercial specialists to establish a stronger local presence.
Establishing international roots
Expanding abroad requires local knowledge, relationships and trusted networks, and international experts from the Inflexion Ignite network have helped Noventis here.
For India, Noventis worked closely with Inflexion’s international experts based in Bangalore, who organised multiple visits to India including road shows introducing the business to local distributors, consultants and fire chiefs. They also helped source a local Sales Head, Business Development Manager and Senior Consultant to help with brand building.
The connections bore fruit, with the local experts onboarding the largest distributor in India in 2022, bringing a pan-country presence and 4,500 channel partners. Overall the effort helped increase local sales by 5x in five years, firmly establishing the firm’s India business.
“They’re incredibly helpful as ‘feet on the street’ with their local knowledge and it’s helping dramatically. We could never do that ourselves as we lack the reach,'' said Robert.
Strengthening supply chains
A critical measure for any industrials business, for Noventis, this has primarily involved strengthening the local distribution and channel infrastructure needed to reach and serve customers effectively.
Commercial expansion had been constrained in China because the company’s Asian distributor network is supervised from the UK. To support its ambitions in China, a local expert from the Inflexion Ignite network led a detailed assessment of the distribution landscape and regulatory environment, identifying opportunities to optimise the company's existing partner network. The local expert also supported the recruitment of an experienced regional executive to manage the process going forwards.
Looking ahead, Noventis plans to continue expanding its platform into further global markets.
"We are aiming to double the business, and we have the team and strategy in place," Robert says.
