The majority shareholder of Fehr Lagerlogistik AG in Winterthur, Switzerland, announced the acquisition of Matter srl in Italy. Both companies are global leaders in AS/AR systems for intralogistics in a variety of metal and other market segments, from mills to service centers, large production companies to job shops. According to majority shareholder CEO Thomas Lehner of Fehr, “We see this acquisition representing a new day in AS/AR for industry. Together, we can offer a comprehensive range of equipment and services to the market.” The acquisition was finalized between the company management teams on October 31, 2024.
Fehr, founded in Switzerland in 1949 by Hans Fehr, is today owned by the Lehner family. From warehousing logistics, through automation and special handling functions, the Fehr team of experts ensures a smooth movement of materials from stainless steel, tool steel, tube & pipe, aluminum, plastic or wood and other specialty materials handling needs, for its customers. Fehr systems are available in various configurations and offer robotic materials handling, automated sheet and long product picking, robotic saw cells and laser-guided loading/unloading.
Fehr operates numerous production facilities and warehouses worldwide. The company’s honeycomb system is considered one of the fastest AS/AR systems in the market for large quantities. Fehr Warehouse Solutions in Charlotte, North Carolina is the North American base of operations for the company.
Likewise, Matter, founded in Bibbiano, Italy in 1992, specializes in the design and installation of technically advanced, vertical intralogistics solutions for the steel industry, especially for bars, tubes, billets, sheets, dies and components handling with vertical storage. The company is fully integrated in its engineering, software design, industrial automation, full fabrication and system integration. It supplies the industry its MATTER PRO series of customized systems for large quantity handling, as well as its popular MATT BOX
modular storage systems for smaller quantities, aimed at eliminating outside materials storage for the job shop and contract manufacturers. As Giuseppe Rotondi, CEO at Matter, notes, “We see the synergy of this relationship as a great opportunity to serve both our markets with a more comprehensive suite of equipment and services.” Matter USA is based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The company counts major U.S. metal service centers, manufacturing operations and numerous job shops among its diverse customer base.
Both companies provide fully integrated and application-specific materials handling solutions with state-of-the-art material management interface, data communications and automatic transport devices. Furthermore, both companies work daily on projects for existing and greenfield locations.
Consummating the acquisition were Marcel and Thomas Lehner, while the Matter management team comprised Raffaele Fiore and CEO Giuseppe Rotondi. The Lehner family obtained full ownership of Matter.
Going forward, plans include the maintenance of both brands in the market, according to company sources.
