GFOS Group expands through partnership with Riverside

Riverside, a global growth equity investor for small and medium-sized enterprises, invests in GFOS, a market leader in professional workforce management and workforce planning. Riverside will support the further internationalization of GFOS Group and the ongoing expansion of cloud migration. GFOS will particularly benefit from Riverside's global expertise in HR tech strategies and deep understanding of profitable growth. 

GFOS Group was founded by Burkhard Röhrig in 1988 and subsequently built up and managed together with Gunda Cassens-Röhrig. The family business was handed over to the second generation two years ago. GFOS Co-CEO and founder's daughter Katharina Van Meenen-Röhrig is looking forward to the merger and the joint further development of GFOS with Riverside and in particular to further leveraging the great market potential. With 35-years of sustainable success, GFOS is an internationally recognized provider of workforce management with over 4,500 customers in 30 countries and also offers highly functional software products for access control, smart manufacturing and cloud solutions. In a rapidly digitalizing world of work and a massive shortage of skilled workers, GFOS solutions make a critical contribution to competitiveness, planning efficiency, frictionless workflows, and employee satisfaction.

Among the more than 4,500 customers are ARI Armaturen Albert Richter GmbH & Co. KG, Arthrex GmbH, Feller AG, IMS Gear SE & Co. KG, MANN + HUMMEL International GmbH & Co. KG, Transgourmet Deutschland GmbH & Co. KG, NOWEDA Apothekergenossenschaft eG, Schwan Cosmetics Germany GmbH & Co. KG, Senneiser electronic GmbH & Co. KG and many more.

Riverside is a leading private equity investor with a long track record of providing flexible capital options to owners and employees of its portfolio companies in the mid-market. The investor aims to create transformational growth and lasting value. Since its foundation in 1988, the same year as GFOS, Riverside has made more than 1,000 investments and currently holds 140 portfolio companies.

“The entry of such a renowned and successful growth equity investor is a confirmation of our first-class product and the entire company. Together, we will strongly leverage the enormous growth potential of our market, both nationally and internationally, and initiate a new, growth-oriented and partnership-based era,” says Co-CEO Katharina Van Meenen-Röhrig.

“The world of work has changed massively in recent years. We are leveraging this by making even better use of the resulting market opportunities and delivering measurable and success-critical added value for our customers with our solutions,” says Co-CEO Dr. Ignace Van Meenen.

Riverside is also convinced of the great potential of the merger. “We are looking forward to working with GFOS, one of the market leaders in workforce management and its first-class products, as well as with the management and the entire GFOS Group. We are convinced that ‘Aiming higher together’ is not just a slogan, but reality,” explains Florian Halama, Principal at Riverside.

In general, GFOS retains the character of a second-generation family business with family-run management and great ambitions, which will be positively strengthened by the merger with Riverside in order to generate further profitable growth.