Cementos Molins strengthens its position in Spain with the takeover of Escofet, a leader in architectural concrete and urban spaces.

Cementos Molins strengthens its business in Spain with the acquisition of Escofet 1886, a company specialising in the design and industrialisation of urban elements and architectural concrete.

• The transaction, which involves a 37% to 76% stake, will promote commercial and industrial synergies.
• Escofet, creator of Barcelona’s iconic panots de flor and panots Gaudí, is a European benchmark in urban setting and architectural façades.

Cementos Molins has strengthened its business in Spain by taking control of Escofet 1886, a company specialising in the design and industrialisation of urban elements and architectural concrete. With this operation, materialised through the purchase of shares from the first two family shareholders of Escofet 1886, as well as other smaller shareholders, Cementos Molins has gone from holding 37% of the shares to 76%. The presence of Cementos Molins in Escofet’s shareholder base dates back to 1989, when it acquired 25% of the company.

The operation will accelerate the growth of the business and take advantage of a great potential for synergies thanks to the prestige of the Escofet brand and its innovative designs together with the technical and industrial competence of Cementos Molins and its financial muscle.

Escofet 1886, with almost 135 years of history, is headquartered in Martorell (Barcelona), has a workforce of 88 and has achieved a turnover of 14 million euros in 2019. The company focuses on the urban setting business (which includes concrete furniture, multi-material furniture, paving and lighting) and architectural concrete (which includes façade elements, enclosures and unique elements made of self-compacting, high-performance concrete).

“I am very pleased with the opportunities presented by our commitment to Escofet, a company with great prestige thanks to the design and quality of its products and a brand that is a benchmark in the sector,” explains Julio Rodríguez, CEO of Cementos Molins. “Furthermore, its commitment to innovation and its focus on sustainability fit in perfectly with Cementos Molins’ strategy,” he adds.

More than a century of history

Escofet 1886 has its origins in Barcelona, a city that has served as a showcase to project its business worldwide. The company, responsible for the iconic flower panot and the Gaudí panot in the streets of the Catalan capital, among many other famous projects, has collaborated throughout its history with major architectural figures such as Antoni Gaudí, Lluís Domènech i Montaner, Enric Miralles, Jean Nouvel, David Chipperfield, Arata Isozaki and Toyo Ito, and has signed projects in more than 40 countries around the world.