Client: Trench Group
The Trench Group is a world-leading manufacturer of high-voltage products and components used in energy transmission. As part of the energy transition, the company makes an important contribution to the security of supply and sustainability of modern power grids. The product portfolio includes bushings, instrument transformers, and reactors.
With more than 2,500 employees at eight international locations – including Germany, Austria, Italy, Canada, and China – Trench serves global markets with locally adapted solutions. The company focuses on technical excellence, innovative strength, and high quality standards. Since April 2024, Trench has been part of the portfolio of private equity firm Triton Partners and is pursuing ambitious growth and digitalization goals under new ownership.
Carve-out Profile
Client: Trench Group
Investor: Triton Partners
Size: approx. 2,500 employees
Industry: Energy transmission
Headquarters: Berlin
Locations: 8 global locations, including Canada, China, Italy, Austria, and Germany
Initial Situation and Objectives
In the summer of 2023, the then-owner decided to spin off the Trench Group and transfer it to independence. The Trench Group – a global manufacturer of high-voltage components – was deeply integrated into the corporate structure. The challenge was to build a functioning, independent IT structure in a very short time to maintain operational business and position the company for the future.
digatus was selected by Trench as a partner for this complex carve-out to support the transition to an independent company and create a sustainable IT foundation.
Challenge
The biggest challenge lay in the high integration density within the former group and the ambitious timeline. The global structure of Trench was particularly complex, with critical locations in Canada and China, each bringing their own requirements and regulatory conditions. The IT infrastructure had to be designed not only efficiently but also resilient and scalable for future growth goals.
Approach
Conception Structuring
Initially, a clearly structured carve-out concept was developed together with Trench. The complexity of the project was divided into individual workstreams – including infrastructure, ERP, non-ERP, and applications. The goal was to utilize existing knowledge internally while simultaneously building new structures.
Hybrid Cloud Strategy
Due to the tight timeframe, a hybrid IT landscape was implemented: Existing local structures were maintained, while new systems were built cloud-based – including Microsoft 365 and Azure. This enabled quick availability and scalability while reducing implementation effort.
Global Rollouts Local Challenges
The rollout in different regions brought additional complexity. The China location, in particular, presented major challenges to the project team – including specific legal requirements, technical limitations in networks and cloud services. Thanks to close cooperation with local IT teams and pragmatic problem-solving, all systems were successfully migrated here as well.
Long-term Partnership Managed Services
The successful carve-out does not mark the end of the collaboration. digatus continues to support Trench in the context of managed services for the further development and digitalization of IT systems.
that is listening rather than imposing a requirement us.
Fabrizio Negri
Senior Vice President IT
Trench Group GmbH
Customer Benefits Conclusion
Through close collaboration, strategic conception, and focused project management, Trench was able to transition to standalone operations on time and smoothly – despite all technical and organizational hurdles.
Today, Trench not only benefits from a robust IT infrastructure but also from a long-term partnership that creates space for innovation and continuous development – especially with regard to digitalization, automation, and artificial intelligence in the industrial environment.
Christoph Pscherer
He has been working in the IT environment for almost 30 years, gaining experience in various roles and areas. Through his years of experience as a Service Manager, he knows the challenges and needs on the customer side. He has been applying this deep understanding and knowledge at digatus for more than eight years. As Head of BU IT M&A and Transformation, he and his team support all IT topics along the value chain of M&A projects. This includes due diligence, carve-out, and integration projects.
