UST | Change of ownership at United Salon Technologies

Neuss, 27.04.2021 –Wilh. Werhahn KG is selling its United Salon Technologies (UST) business activity to the CERTINA Group. The transaction will be completed on April 30, 2021. UST produces and markets professional scissors, knives, brushes and combs as well as electrical appliances and accessories for the hairdressing trade through its two brands JAGUAR and TONDEO and distributes them in over 80 countries. With the new owner, the company will continue its successful course. The sale was preceded by an intensive exploratory process.

Paolo Dell' Antonio, Chairman of the Management Board of Wilh. Werhahn KG, explains: "UST has recently shown considerable development. We have invested a lot in the realignment so that UST is well positioned for the next development step. However, we have come to the conclusion that the Werhahn Group cannot be the best owner for UST. The backround is - despite the leading positioning - the limited market size. For this reason, together with UST's management team, we started looking for a new owner, which we found in CERTINA. We are pleased that CERTINA will consistently continue UST's path and lead it to suc-cess."
Various measures have been initiated in the recent past. For example, the brand profiles of JAGUAR and TONDEO have been significantly sharpened. Optimized production processes and the use of innovative technologies have also increased process efficiency - for example, the production time for some products has been significantly accelerated. Together with the new owner CERTINA, UST will continue to pursue its course in a targeted manner, open up new growth prospects in the market for hairdressing supplies and strengthen its established brands.

CERTINA is an owner-managed industrial holding company based in Gruenwald near Munich. As an international family investor, CERTINA accompanies companies in their longterm development under the premises of sustainability, continuity and innovation. In doing so, CERTINA invests exclusively its own financial resources and advises its portfolio companies in the long term as an operating partner. With currently 18 portfolio companies, CERTINA is active in various sectors and industries. CERTINA has many years of experience and a pro-found understanding of the respective supply and value chains in both metal processing and trading.
Holger Schmidt, Managing Partner of the Consumer Goods Division of the CERTINA Group: "We are pleased to welcome UST to the CERTINA Group. The traditional company UST, from the blade town of Solingen, is Europe's leading supplier of highquality scissors and hairdressing supplies and manufactures the highest quality based on outstanding craftsmanship "Made in Germany". In the course of the transaction, we were able to get to know the extremely professional management and the great employees, whom we particularly welcome to the CERTINA family. I am convinced that CERTINA, with its industry knowledge, opera-tional experience and track record in long-term business alignment, is the optimal owner to ensure sustainable development and further strengthen growth potential nationally and internationally."
Christian Nowak and Peter Honc, management of UST, agree: "We are pleased that with the CERTINA Group we have found a partner who has a long-term, strategic interest in UST and the market for hairdressing supplies and who also has a precise understanding of the hairdressing industry. This already became clear in the intensive, goaloriented discussions in the preliminary round. We are sure that with CERTINA at our side, we will be able to continue on the path to success we have already embarked upon and to further develop our business innovatively and successfully with new impulses and ideas."

About the Werhahn Group
Wilh. Werhahn KG was founded 180 years ago as a diversified family business. Today, the group of companies is engaged in a wide range of activities in Germany and abroad in the fields of building materials (natural stone, slate), consumer goods (Zwilling Kitchenware, Zwilling Beauty Group) and financial services (abcfinance, Bank11, Yareto). The companies of this mediumsized family business employ approximately 10,000 people worldwide.

About the CERTINA Group
CERTINA is a familyowned industrial holding company focused on the acquisition and operational development of companies. As an operating investor, CERTINA adds value through industry expertise, technical know-how and many years of experience in corporate development. With currently 18 corporate groups and approx. 1,800 employees, CERTINA is successfully active in a wide range of industries worldwide.

Press contact
Dr. Kai-Nils Eicke
DJM Communication GmbH
+49 (0)211 90223793
k.eicke@djm-com.de