Maars has announced an acquisition led by Herman Miller. Photo courtesy of Maars
Maars, the NeoCon-award-winning global designer and manufacturer of relocatable walls, has announced a preliminary acquirement by a group of investors led by Herman Miller. A global furniture designer and manufacturer, Herman Miller will acquire 48 percent of the equity of Maars Holding BV with an option to acquire a controlling interest over time. Additional investors in the group include select U.S.-certified Herman Miller dealers, a European dealer and members of the Maars management team led by the incumbent CEO Menno de Vries.
“This acquisition strengthens our mission to improve people’s well-being and productivity by combining Maars Living Walls with the Living Office strategy of Herman Miller. Maars will have access to Herman Miller’s expansive and strong dealer network in North America and the company’s global customer base,” Maars CEO Menno de Vries said. “This combination significantly expands our global reach and opens up many new opportunities for the Maars brand, our people and our growing network.”
Headquartered in Harderwijk, the Netherlands, Maars Living Walls is a leading global designer and manufacturer of standard and customized modular walls focused on high design, soundproofing and fireproofing. Since its founding in 1946, Maars has grown its international reach, serving customers in more than 45 countries. The company’s innovative solutions are used in a wide range of interior environments, including office spaces, care and cure facilities, airports, hotels and universities. Customers have included Dow Jones, General Electric, Google, IBM and Microsoft.
“Maars’ products will be a key part of our offering that brings customers best-in-class solutions to help them create a variety of enclosed settings,” said Brian Walker, president and CEO of Herman Miller. “Now, more than ever, customers are looking for environments that are flexible, modular spaces, and Maars meets that demand with innovation and design at the center. Combined with other solutions we have or will be introducing in the near future, we will have a broad and leading portfolio in this important and growing solution segment. This is another key step in our efforts to increase our share of wallet as we build a stronger dealer ecosystem.”
The modular wall market already is well established in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, and is growing quickly in North America. “North America is a huge market and opportunity for Maars. With our collaboration with Herman Miller, we’re even better positioned to capitalize on this opportunity and build global leadership in the relocatable walls category,” said Robert Craven, Maars Living Walls USA managing director. Maars Living Walls is known for its innovative and patented architectural standards; the company holds more than 100 third-party certificates and many patents for acoustic products.
“We are excited to join our dealer partners in this endeavor. We know that this solution set requires a highly committed and capable dealer network to lead specification and installation. We believe this unique investor group ensures we have the right folks to guide the implementation of Maars’ strategy to enter the North American market and develop a leading global position,” Herman Miller Executive Vice President of Strategy and Business Development Jeremy Hocking said. “We are confident that Maars’ seasoned management team and our industry-leading distribution network will be a winning combination.”