Denis Kuchly

The group was founded by Denis Kuchly in Hérange, France in 1980, and now leads the French agricultural works market, with a strategy involving both organic growth and acquisitions, combined with a novel, diversified business model. The group has three main business lines, i.e. agricultural works, transport, and public works, including sales of quarry materials.

The Denis Kuchly group is an SME based in the Moselle region of France, with revenue of €36 million and 320 employees. It has formed a partnership with Crédit Mutuel Equity (formerly CM-CIC Investissement) to strengthen its equity base with the aim of realising its new growth plans and maintaining growth of 10% per year. The group has received equity investment totalling €4 million, with €3.5 million from Crédit Mutuel Equity and €0.5 million from Institut Lorrain de Participation. After the transaction, the Kuchly family still owns more than three quarters of the group's equity.

The Denis Kuchly group is a leading player in the transportation and supply of agricultural materials such as alfalfa, sugar beet and cereals to food production sites and co-operatives. It can handle the entire process, from collection to processing. It makes optimal use of its large fleet - which includes more than 200 trucks and around 100 agricultural and construction machines - through the versatility and expertise of its people, particularly in agricultural works. The group has developed a second, related business to meet its clients' requirements in terms of transportation and equipment, renting out items such as construction machines, combine harvesters, forage harvesters, skips and tanks. It has acquired a quarry, developing a third business unit involving the transportation and sale of aggregates. The company has also developed a business in powder transportation (cement, lime etc.) via its TDK subsidiary, and it is currently launching a fourth business unit covering all activities relating to anaerobic digesters.

"This financial transaction will enable us to embark on a major new phase of development, involving investments totalling more than €20 million over three years and the recruitment of around 100 employees, to help us serve all our clients," explained Denis Kuchly, Chairman and CEO. "We chose a trusted financial partner - the Crédit Mutuel Alliance Fédérale group, with which we have a long-standing relationship dating back to the company's creation - to support our growth strategy."

"We were attracted by the unusual business model of this company, which has been able to maintain a consistent growth policy while showing great agility. Denis Kuchly is a recognised player in a market that is seeing steady growth, and it has a significant lead over its rivals. It has a large, modern fleet of vehicles and machines, which represents a real entry barrier, and its client portfolio consists of multinationals and large French corporations. These are all strengths that persuaded us to provide the group with long-term support," added Romain Peiffer, Principal at Crédit Mutuel Equity.

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