Mathias Lönneker, Chief Strategy Officer and Executive Vice President of Stark Group, has been announced as the keynote speaker at the UFEMAT European Builders Merchants Conference, taking place in Copenhagen, Denmark, in September.

Lönneker holds responsibility for strategy, business development and value creation plans for larger M&A. He is a member of the Executive Committee of the Group.

Since he joined the Stark Group in early 2018, he has played a crucial role in the company’s transformative journey. Initially operating solely in nordic countries, Stark Group has, during the past six years, quadrupled in size, entering markets such as the UK, Germany and Austria. This has made the company a leading European merchant and distributor of heavy building materials.

Today, Stark Group operates 1,150 branches and distribution centres across Europe through six subsidiary companies. Stark Building Materials UK, which comprises 14 brands including Jewson, is one of the UK’s largest retailers and distributors of building and construction materials.

The UFEMAT Conference brings together builders’ merchants, building material suppliers, and trade bodies from across Europe. This year's event will mark the conclusion of BMF CEO, John Newcomb’s six-year term of office as President of UFEMAT.

Newcomb said: “I’m delighted that Mathias will speak at my final conference as UFEMAT President.  Stark Group has a proud 125-year history in Denmark and became the largest builders’ merchant in the Nordic region in the early 2000s. 

“But I am most interested in hearing about its most recent transformation into the biggest building materials distributor in Northern Europe.

“I’m sure that many others in the BMF’s merchant and supplier community will want to join me at this year’s UFEMAT Conference, which takes place from 26 to 28 September.”