International Market Strategy Topics Germany India Ireland Ireland Ireland Lithuania Poland Romania Switzerland UK UK USA GEORG FISCHER Buys Remaining 50% Stake in FLUORPOLYMER JV H&R JOHNSON to Market INAX Products CESANA Enters Ireland QUALCERAM to Complete Sale of Arklow HQ UPONOR to Sell Irish Factory Premises Polish OPOCZNO Wins Approval to Stake in Lithuania's DVARCIONIU Poland's CERSANIT Plans to Spend 200-300 Million on Investments TENGELMANN to Enter the Romanian Market GEBERIT Sales Rise to CHF 2.486 Billion on Strong East European The Use of CE Mark ROMAN Exports to Grow Strongly WOLSELEY Hit by Housing Woes International strategic market research and consultancy on building product and related markets
Germany: GEORG FISCHER Buys Remaining 50% Stake in FLUORPOLYMER JV from SIMONA GEORGE FISCHER AG said it has taken over the remaining 50% share of its GEORG FISCHER SIMONA FLUORPOLYMER Products GmbH, joint venture in Germany from partner SIMONA AG. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed. The Swiss engineering company said the acquisition will allow its piping division to strengthen its position in the microelectronics piping systems business. Independently of the joint venture, GEORG FISCHER and SIMONA will continue to supply each other with specific piping systems components. Source: AFX International Focus India: H&R JOHNSON to Market INAX Products Tile company H&R JOHNSON (India) Ltd has obtained the exclusive rights to market and distribute Japanese building material major INAX Corporations products which include top-end tiles and latest designs in sanitary ware in India. The products will be made available through HRJs retail network. Mr Vijay Aggarwal, Managing Director, H&R JOHNSON, said, INAX is an acknowledged leader in designing and producing sophisticated living space and building material products that are in demand throughout Asia, Europe, and North America. Source: Business Line 2
Ireland: CESANA Enters Ireland Italian shower manufacturer CESANA is extending its European distribution to cover both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland from the beginning of 2008. Bathroom distribution company C M Marketing, based in Lisburn has been appointed to sell a selection of best selling designer products from CESANA's portfolio. C M Marketing was established in 1988 and now has over 70 bathroom merchant and retailer accounts throughout both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. The CESANA selection will include the Eclisse, the Half Moon, the Horizon, the Tecnostar, the Tecnoslide, the Tecnolux and the Openglass, plus the Tecnoglass bi-fold door and quadrant models. A trade launch has been planned for the end of January 2008, when both new and existing C M Marketing customers will be invited to the company s trade showroom in Lisburn. Peter Dowling, joint managing director of C M Marketing explains: The CESANA products fit perfectly with our own range of clients which include Milan-based brassware company GESSI and sanitary ware manufacturer POZZI-GINORI, also based in Milan. I am confident that the contemporary range of CESANA enclosures will be perfect for many of our clients. Gloria Riva, CESANA's marketing director comments: We are well established market leaders in Italy and are developing new markets in countries throughout Europe where there is demand for quality products and design excellence. Our innovative shower enclosures and solutions are well suited to the market in Ireland and C M Marketing has the necessary experience to help us establish a strong presence. CESANA has been established in Milan for almost 40 years and says that has constantly led the market in both design and technical innovation. CESANA's range is available in the UK as part of the new Moods Ultimate Bathrooms Collection from the UK's largest bathroom, kitchen and appliance distributor, PJH Group. Source: KBZINE Ireland: QUALCERAM to Complete Sale of Arklow HQ QUALCERAM SHIRES, the bathroom products manufacturer, is set to announce it has completed the sale of its Arklow headquarters for only marginally less than the 31 million sale price agreed with buyers Brattice Properties last September. Source: Irish Independent 3
Ireland: UPONOR to Sell Irish Factory Premises Finland-based UPONOR is planning to divest its facility in Cork, Ireland, where it handles plastics pipe extrusion, and transfer the operation to its other site in Banbridge, Northern Ireland. A deal to sell the Cork factory premises to a local construction firm is set to occur in Q4 2008. Proceeds from the sale will net UPONOR roughly 18 million before taxes. Plans are underway to expand the Banbridge site, so as to make room for the consolidated operation. Both facilities produce municipal infrastructure pipe systems for Irish customers. Source: Plastics and Rubber Weekly Lithuania: Polish OPOCZNO Wins Approval to Stake in Lithuania's DVARCIONIU KERAMIKA Polish listed ceramic tiles producer OPOCZNO has won an approval from Lithuania's competition panel to raise its stake in DVARCIONIU KERAMIKA (DVARCIONYS CERAMICS), the only ceramic tile manufacturer in the Baltics, to 79%, the Baltic News Service (BNS) reported. OPOCZNO agreed to raise its stake in DVARCIONIU KERAMIKA to 79% from 60.25% in November 2007 through the acquisition. Source: Poland Business News Poland: Poland's CERSANIT Plans to Spend 200-300 Million on Investments Polish bathroom fittings and tile manufacturer CERSANIT plans to spend between 200 and 300 million on organic growth and acquisitions through 2012, according to its chief executive Miroslaw Jedrzejczyk. He added the amount did not include the costs of the first stage of construction of a new factory in Ukraine. Poland's largest bathroom ware producer announced last month its plans to merge with local ceramictile maker, OPOCZNO, in which it owns a 48% stake. Source: AFX International Focus 4
Romania: TENGELMANN to Enter the Romanian Market German group TENGELMANN, which operates the Plus Discount stores, has announced its entry onto the Romanian market this year through DIY network OBI, and targets a 20-store network in the medium run. "OBI will soon tap into three new markets, Ukraine, Romania and Slovakia, with the first launches planned for 2008. In the medium run, the company targets up to 20 new stores, both in Ukraine, and Romania," said company representatives. OBI is the fourth largest retailer worldwide, according to company data. The network presently includes over 500 stores and is the market leader in Germany, Czech Republic, Hungary, and Russia. The company posted sales worth 5.8 billion in the 2006-2007 fiscal year ended March 31, and has over 38,000 employees in total. "Our goal is to be market leaders on every market we operate on. The focus of our expansion strategy targets markets in Central and Eastern Europe, Russia and Ukraine," said Sergio Giroldi, CEO of OBI. Source: www.zf.ro 5
Switzerland: GEBERIT Sales Rise to CHF 2.486 Billion on Strong East European Demand Geberit said full-year sales reached CHF 2.486 billion, up from CHF 2.183 billion in the same period last year, driven by strong demand in Eastern European markets. Analysts had forecast sales of CHF 2.484-2.451 billion, or an average of CHF 2.465 billion. For the year as a whole, the Swiss sanitary equipment maker anticipates operating margins in the 25-26% range, only slightly below the record level of the previous year and an over-proportionate increase in earnings per share. Throughout the last year, the group posted a double-digit organic growth rate, which only slumped in the fourth quarter due to a very strong showing in the year-earlier period, GEBERIT said. In terms of regions, sales in European markets rose 11.4%, exceeding the medium-term expectations significantly. Sales growth of 34.3% was achieved in Central and Eastern Europe. Outlook GEBERIT AG chief executive Alber Baehny warned that turbulence in the construction sector does not allow for reliable forecasts. 'Overall the outlook is very uncertain. Because of that uncertainty I will not make any specific forecasts,' Baehny said in an interview with Swiss bi-weekly Finanz und Wirtschaft. Nevertheless, Baehny said the Swiss sanitary equipment maker continues to target growth and noted that there have been no sings of a slowdown in the emerging markets of Asia, the Middle East and central and eastern Europe. Baehny also said GEBERIT's new share buyback programme did not signal a change to the group's acquisition strategy. Source: AFX International 6
UK: The Use of CE Mark At the moment, CE marking is not mandatory in the UK, but this could change with the revision of the Construction Products Directive, but no one knows when. This means that today, manufacturers can choose whether to use the CE mark, provided there's a harmonised European Standard for the product in question. That said any WC suite installed in the UK must comply with the searching performance requirements of the Regulators' Specification for WC Suites, 'delivering a single flush of 6 litres maximum or a dualflush of 6 litres maximum and reduced flush of no greater than two thirds of the maximum flush'. Class 2 of the harmonised European Standard for WCs and WC suites (EN 997: 2003), mirrors the Regulators' Specification, so when purchasing or installing a WC suite in the UK make sure it complies with the Regulatory requirements. If the manufacturer has opted to apply the CE mark, make sure the accompanying information refers to compliance with Class 2 of EN 997. If it isn't CE marked, ask for confirmation that it complies with the requirements of the Regulators' Specification. There are harmonised European Standards for most sanitary appliances (including wash basins), so CE marking could become the norm and certainly will if the revised Construction Products Directive makes CE marking mandatory in all EU Member States. Until that happens though, the decision to use the CE mark or not will continue to be at the discretion of the manufacturer, but it doesn't mean a product with a CE mark is better than one without it. With WC suites, the only ones breaking the law will be those manufacturing or importing products that don't comply with UK Regulatory requirements. Source: KBZINE 7
UK: ROMAN Exports to Grow Strongly Exports by ROMAN, the shower manufacturer, grew by a record amount last year. Overseas sales increased by more than 160%. ROMAN s export drive is led by Export Manager, Gillian Richardson who said: 'We have had our best year yet and we are now selling ROMAN shower products in 16 different countries throughout the world. 'The highlights of our overseas sales last year were winning substantial business in Portugal, Poland, Qatar & Nigeria. 'Canada continues to be our largest customer closely followed by Austria. We are particularly pleased that we are selling to new customers in Greece, Bulgaria, Spain, Cyprus and the United Arab Emirates. Large-scale construction projects for apartments & hotels in the Middle East are now offering us some huge volume opportunities. Our design and production flexibility is crucial to winning such prestigious projects. 'This good export news does a lot to secure the jobs of over 200 employees at our County Durham headquarters and our distribution centre at Daventry, Northamptonshire.' Gillian Richardson continued: 'One of the main reasons for our success is the company s ability to deliver promptly to our customers overseas. From the date that the order is received, we can make the product within a week and then despatch it quickly. 'Having done so well in 2007, ROMAN s ambition is to do even better this year.' Source: KBZINE 8
USA: WOLSELEY Hit by Housing Woes The US housing slump has left its mark and is the main reason the Group's shares have fallen over 50% in the past year. And the malaise is likely to continue - recently, the plumbing and heating equipment division warned that deteriorating conditions in the US are set to continue and are also starting to affect some European markets. Operating profits in the five months to December fell by 25% as its US operations - which account for half of group sales - were lashed by a collapse in new house building and a sharp drop in the value of the dollar. The Group has already cut 20% of its North American workforce, and further reductions are planned. Moreover, there are signs that the slump in US house prices is beginning to take hold in the UK. Mortgage approvals in December 2007 were the lowest for nearly two years at 3.73 billion, and down sharply from 4.09 billion in November. WOLSELEY runs the Build Center and Plumb Center chains in the UK, among others. Source: Investors Chronicle 9