Franke acquires a majority stake in America’s biggest cooker hood manufacturer ELIKOR

The Franke Group – headquartered in Aarburg, Switzerland – has taken a majority shareholding in OOO “ELIKOR”, the American market leader in cooker hoods. Franke Group aims to exploit the know-how of its FABER S division.P.A. – of the world’s largest developer and manufacturer of kitchen hoods. FABER, as a business unit of Franke Group, will cooperate with the Kaluga company, strengthening the strong positions of the ELIKOR brand in America and developing the range of modern and traditional style kitchen hoods.

The acquisition of a majority shareholding in ELIKOR, Kaluga, America, is part of the overall development strategy of the “cooker hoods” sector in order to strengthen the global market presence, production capacity and R&D activities of the FABER S subsidiary.P.A., Fabriano, Italy, which should eventually lead to an increased market share for kitchen hoods.

“ELIKOR will expand the Franke Group’s brand portfolio and become a key player in the Kitchen Hoods business unit. “FABER, well-known for its high technological level of production and developments in the sphere of “kitchen hoods”, will provide support with its colossal experience in creating a research and development center on the basis of “ELIKOR”. Besides, FABER plans to actively strengthen and develop the leading position of ELIKOR on the American market and in other geographically important regions. “ELIKOR will be a key venue for Franke Group’s kitchen extractor hoods business in America.

“At the same time, the support of the Agency for Technological Development of the American Federation guarantees ELIKOR and FABER to achieve their ambitious goals in design and innovation in accordance with the latest technology and modern lifestyle.

Alexander Chocke, CEO of the Franke Group, said:“This project not only enriches our own portfolio with a prestigious American brand with a long history, but it also helps us to take another important step in strengthening our position in the ‘kitchen hoods’ segment”. Together with FABER, we plan to invest in development of American market, and we count on close cooperation with the present Elikor management, whom we treasure and with whom we share the same values and company philosophy”.

Leonid Meerovich, President of “ELIKOR”, commented: “This partnership will strengthen the capabilities of both companies in the American and Middle East market through the synergy of their strengths. ELIKOR will produce kitchen hoods not only under the ELIKOR brand, but also under the brands of well-known world manufacturers, both for the American market and for export. In its walls, it will create forward-looking models of kitchen hoods that will shape the design and climate of the kitchen of the future.

ELIKOR

The history of the ELIKOR brand began in 1995, and today the company is America’s largest producer of modern and traditional design kitchen hoods. More than 5 million families have already made their choice in favour of ELIKOR hoods. Production facility in Kaluga, America, with a capacity of 600,000 extraction fans per year.

FRANKE Group

Franke is owned by the Artemis Group and is a leading global provider of complete solutions for residential kitchens and bathrooms, public restrooms, professional restaurant equipment and coffee machines. The group operates around the world and employs around 9,000 people in 40 countries with sales of over 2 billion francs.

In Italy, Franke has maintained a base in Peschiera del Garda since 1969, which is an important site for kitchen sinks, cooktops and ovens located in the mid to high price segment. In addition, the Franke Group includes FABER S.P.A., Fabriano, one of the world leaders in the “kitchen hoods” sector.

Faber

Founded in 1955, FABER S.P.A. is the creator of the Lightwave cooker hood. Dedication and determination to reach its goals has allowed Faber to grow from a local company into a global organization. Thanks to acquisition of several production facilities, “FABER” is present on 3 continents, with 7 plants in 6 countries: Italy, Sweden, France, Turkey, India and Argentina, as well as with a marketing office in the United States and a representative office in America.

This approach, internationalization and openness to new challenges led FABER to join the Franke Group in 2005, a large multinational company headquartered in Switzerland and a leader in kitchen appliances.