MAT Holding grows with the purchase of the Bayer factory in Quart de Poblet

New step in the process of growth and diversification through selective acquisitions of the MAT Holding group. The Catalan family company, led by Pau Relat, has just agreed to acquire the factory of phytosanitary products and crop protection products that Bayer Crop Science owns in the Valencian municipality of Quart de Poblet. The operation will allow increasing the production capacity of Industrias Químicas del Vallés (IQV), a MAT Holding company specialized in plant health and a leader in the manufacture and commercialization of copper salts for agriculture.

As both companies announced this Monday, Bayer will transfer the Quart de Poblet plant to IQV in June 2024, establishing a full year to ensure the transition and focus on the new stage. MAT Holding "guarantees the operational continuity" of the factory and will also offer "employment guarantee for its workers for a year and a half from this transfer date."

The Quart de Poblet plant began operating in 1971 and currently has around a hundred employees, some of whom are directly and indirectly related to production and others are from different areas of the company that Bayer will reallocate. "The center has significant capabilities and good facilities that, due to market changes and Bayer's strategic focus, are not currently utilized to their maximum potential. For this reason, the German multinational is transferring the Quart de Poblet factory, with all its assets and personnel, to the IQV company," the statement says.

MAT Holding highlights that this acquisition "responds to IQV's strategic commitment to the diversification of phytosanitary solutions, including biorationals ─natural or similar and functionally identical synthetic substances used in crop protection, with low environmental impact and for human health─, as well as to increase its production capacity." The group also emphasizes that with this acquisition IQV "strengthens its position in the field of plant health as a supplier to the main multinationals in the sector, while reinforcing its commitment to the Valencian territory, where the Spanish multinational has a formulation and packaging plant in Cheste."

Property of the Matosas family, MAT Holding has increased its business volume by 50% in the last five years thanks to its acquisition strategy and its specialization in two sectors that are becoming increasingly strategically important: water management and the modernization and digitalization of agriculture. In 2022, the company reached a turnover of 364 million euros, a figure that represents a 9% growth compared to the previous year.

The crop protection division, led by IQV, grew by 6%, reaching 144 million. The group of subsidiaries operating in the water sector was much more dynamic, with an increase of 11% and revenues of 220 million. This division includes the companies Aquestia (new brand for its international business created in 2021), focused on water conveyance and control; Regaber, dedicated to professional irrigation systems; Hidroglobal, dedicated to hydraulic projects, SFT, a filtration systems company, and Vegga, for the digital management of crops and farms.

"Agriculture and water are linked to some of the most important challenges, such as the scarcity of agricultural and water resources due to demographic and climate changes," said Relat in reference to the 2022 results. The executive also emphasized that the international business already accounts for 65% of MAT Holding's sales. Headquartered in Mollet del Vallès, the group has 85 years of history, sells in more than 140 countries and has more than a thousand employees.

With facilities in Mollet and Cheste, IQV was founded in 1935 and is a world leader in plant health solutions based on copper salts. It is present in 70 countries on 5 continents and has subsidiaries in Spain, Portugal, Italy, Turkey, Morocco, Chile, and El Salvador.