B+N Referencia Zrt. has taken over one of the flagships of the facility management industry in Poland, i.e. INWEMER. With this step, the Hungarian market leader has reached the top in the Central European region as well.
This achievement is a logical step in the regional expansion of the company. B+N Referencia Zrt. took over the business interests of the ISS Group in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania and Hungary in the Spring of 2021. This was followed by the acquisition of the Slovenian subsidiary of the ISS Group. B+N has 100% ownership in these companies, just like in the new acquisition. Due to the size of the Polish market and its level of development, this transaction marks a milestone for the history of the company.
The company provides services in six key countries of the region, covering 15 million square metres of managed areas, with 18,000 employees
With this new acquisition, B+N Referencia Zrt.‘s highly extensive service portfolio fully covers the Central European region. This step makes the company an unavoidable player in the industry. It took the company 2 decades to establish its market leading position in this extremely competitive segment in Hungary. Its customers in Hungary include large companies and prominent participants of the business sector as well as governmental organisations. With this milestone acquisition, the company provides services in six key countries of the region, covering 15 million square metres of managed areas, with 18,000 employees.
INWEMER has been a dominant player of the FM industry in Poland since 1992. Unprecedentedly, the activities of the firm cover the entire county. As a result, customers can enjoy standardized, high quality services in every town and city. Its customer portfolio includes governmental institutions and private enterprises, besides a number of domestic and multinational companies. With its 7,000 employees, the firm offers services for more than 750 customers with 5.5 million square metres of managed areas. Its main activities include cleaning and facility management services. It generated revenues of 45 million EUR in 2020.
Ferenc Kis-Szölgyémi: I am certain, that following the example of the successful Hungarian, Czech, Slovakian, Romanian and Slovenian acquisitions, we will be an unavoidable player also in the – region’s dominant – Polish market
“B+N Referencia Zrt. obtained ownership of INWEMER in competition with prestigious international companies. I am proud, that following last year’s acquisitions this step has made us the leading player in the regional market. In 2021, we proved that the knowledge and expertise of our colleagues can stand its ground also in the international market. By taking over INWEMER with its 30 years of history, we have clearly stepped up a notch. The integration of the experience and expertise of the Polish company is a great challenge for B+N Referencia Zrt. – and a huge opportunity at the same time. I am certain, that following the example of the successful Hungarian, Czech, Slovakian, Romanian and Slovenian acquisitions, we will be an unavoidable player also in the – region’s dominant – Polish market. The European-wide considerable size of our company and our extensive service portfolio will provide a lot of advantages to our customers. Our synergies and cost-efficient operations ensure a huge competitive advantage in each market” – stated Ferenc Kis-Szölgyémi, CEO of the company.
B+N Referencia Zrt. shapes also the future of facility management
He added: “We capitalize on our pool of blue-collar employees. Since Europe’s blue-collar workers originate mostly from the Central and Eastern European region, I am convinced that this significant workforce bank will improve our competitiveness in Western Europe as well. Based on this advantage, we are planning further expansion.”
B+N Referencia Zrt. shapes also the future of facility management. In addition to the continuous improvement of its services, it places a great emphasis on technological innovation. The company believes that automation and robotics are gaining more and more significance also in this traditional sector. This is the reason why we set up several years ago a research & development department with 20 employees, which is unprecedented in the history of facility management in Hungary. The technological innovations of our R&D department are now available to the entire international group of companies. A good example of this is our proprietary autonomous industrial cleaning robot launched in 2019 or the mobile UV-disinfection device developed in 2020.
In the near future, with the help of a revolutionary technological innovation, the metagenomic analysis and forecast system, our company will be able to identify pathogens on different surfaces. This method enables us to detect pathogen colonies quickly and prevent a potential epidemic. The data obtained this way can be used as a basis for monitoring the efficiency of cleaning and disinfection. This unique invention can drastically reduce the risk of infections at hospitals and improves the safety of patients, while employers can use it to protect the health and safety of their workers.