13-12-2022. Malta. Mediterrania Capital Partners, a Private Equity firm focused on growth investments for SMEs and mid-cap companies in North Africa and Sub-Saharan countries, announces it has exited C.E.C.I. (Centrale Equipement Carrosserie Industrielle), Morocco’s leading trailer manufacturer and truck assembler.
Founded in 2004, C.E.C.I. operates in the truck and bus assembly, trailer and car body manufacturing and automotive spare parts business in Morocco and Algeria. The group owns a 27,000 sq. m. factory in Casablanca and three after-sales service centres in Casablanca, Agadir and Tangiers. In 2013, a local production plant was established in Algeria, expanding C.E.C.I.’s operations outside Morocco.
Nowadays C.E.C.I. is the largest player in the market, with top-quality industrial tooling and a well-structured organisation working with major groups such as Krone, Dhollandia, Renault and Renault Trucks, AB Volvo, Ford, KIA, Webasto, Thermo King and Mitsubishi.
Mediterrania Capital Partners invested in C.E.C.I. through its MC II fund with the objective to support C.E.C.I. in its development plans in the growing Transport and Logistics sector in Morocco.
Under Mediterrania Capital Partners’ guidance, C.E.C.I. brought engineering, architecture and design services in-house enabling the development of its own body moulds for manufacturing truck body parts. C.E.C.I. also entered new business segments with custom-built trucks, trailers and semi-trailers for specific uses such as mobile banking or health units, and developed a proprietary range of flatbed trailers manufactured in Turkey as well as a new transformation offereing for Renault and PSA passenger cars and light commercial vehichles.
During Mediterrania’s partial ownership, C.E.C.I. launched several employee training programmes and implemented different projects to modernise its plants, redefining the layout between the various sections, improving workplace ergonomics and setting up dedicated booths equipped with exhaust ventilation to minimise the employees’ exposure to toxic fumes and hazardous materials. Those initiatives provided a healthier and more efficient working environment and helped increase the job security and satisfaction of C.E.C.I.’s staff.
At the same time, C.E.C.I. launched an environmental and climate strategy focusing on the energy and chemicals used and the impact of its emissions and waste which led the group to strive to minimise residuals and increase the level of recycling and reusability of the materials.
Mediterrania Capital Partners’ exit from C.E.C.I. has been executed through an MBO led by CECI’s management team.
