Drylock, a family-owned hygiene manufacturer, has announced the successful closing of the partnership it concluded with Sofina, allowing the investor to subscribe to approximately 25% of the shares.

The funds will be attributed to support the business plan of Drylock. Bart Van Malderen will remain the majority shareholder as well as chairman and CEO.

In describing the transaction, Harold Boël, CEO of Sofina states, “We were impressed by the speed and success of Drylock Technologies so far. The entrepreneurial spirit, the state-of-the-art production platform with a global presence, the portfolio of sustainable products, the healthy and promising customer mix, and our meetings with the Drylock team have all contributed to convince us of this investment’s merits. Drylock fits in our strategy of investing in growing businesses with a partner that also believes in the virtues of patience and entrepreneurship. We are looking forward to collaborate with Drylock’s management and to contribute to its success.”

Van Malderen says: “In the past seven years we have been growing and building Drylock at an incredible fast pace. As such we have commissioned four plants from scratch, acquired five others in Russia, Italy, North America and Brazil, whilst leading product innovations with proprietary technology such as the fluffless and channel technology. Today we have a platform that allows us to continuously and rapidly further expand our business and I am pleased to welcome Sofina in supporting the further roll-out of our business plan.”