Three Glassmakers now battling over 'Self-Clean' products

Just when you thought the battle ground was going to be over W/m2K (the K presumably standing for Kyoto), along comes an invention which competes with the dishwasher in consumer friendliness, while definitely attracting a high level of City friendliness.

Building materials group Saint-Gobain sales rose by 7.6% above the same period a year ago, and should take market share from its competitor by selling its self-cleaning glass at less than half the price of its rival Pilkington.
Gartmore fund managers reckon that SG is successful because it has 'constructed a matrix of global operations that can make the most of the fact that the world's economies move at different paces.'

Saint-Gobain started as a glass-maker commissioned by France's Louis XIV, to make mirrors (he also invented glass topped tables, but that's another story!).

He wanted to break the Venetian monopoly on glass.

Glass-making and glass fibre production remain an important part of SG's modern business, which also includes ceramics, abrasives, pipes, building and insulation materials.

Saint Gobain launched its Aquaclean self-cleaning product only last month, while Pilkington, the UK glassmaker, unveiled its version, Pilkington Activ, to widespread approval last February.

Pilkington's full commercial launch will not be until March in Europe and October for the UK.
One analyst said that, at best, the presence of Aquaclean will make Pilkington's launch more difficult: 'It could also set a cap for what Pilkington can charge.'

Both have been branded 'self-cleaning glass'- a market-friendly idea that analysts estimate could be worth £200m in Europe by 2005.

Kevin Cammack, building products analyst at Merrill Lynch, said: 'Getting to market early may give Saint Gobain a head start but whether four months will make all the difference against a superior product is questionable.'

However, what all these pundits seem to have missed is this piece posted on Business Wire's PPG channel: 'Window Maker Becomes First in USA to Offer PPG's SunClean Self-Cleaning Glass to Residential Window Customers', dated Sept. 28, 2001.

-Thermal Industries today announced that it will offer windows containing SunClean self-cleaning glass from PPG (NYSE:PPG) beginning next spring - making it the first window and patio enclosure manufacturer to offer the latest in PPG's glass technology for residential windows. The announcement was made at a demonstration of the first home installed with windows containing SunClean self-cleaning glass. The event was held in Baltimore today during the Custom Home 2001 trade show.
    Thermal Industries, an Atrium company, will offer SunClean self-cleaning glass in its full range of residential window products, including double-hung, casement, sliding, bow and bay windows, and patio doors and enclosure systems.
    'Our research shows that SunClean self-cleaning glass will be in demand by homeowners,'said Patrick J. Kenny, director of marketing for PPG's flat glass products. 'Our agreement with Thermal Industries will allow us to meet that demand by offering the product through a long-established major window manufacturer with a wide reach.'
   

Darby to sell Basingstoke toughener to Pilks for £0.5m
 
According to a report from Ananova, Darby Group PLC is to sell its Basingstoke glass toughening operation to Pilkington PLC for approximately £0.5 million, the book value of the assets sold.
The Directors expect the disposal to be earnings enhancing for Darby for the year ending Dec 31 2002. Completion of the sale is expected in late December, subject to contracts being exchanged.
Chief Executive Hugh Hayes said 'The sale is based on the company's decision to concentrate activities on fewer, larger sites. The future of the Basingstoke site and its employees is much better as a result of this deal'.
Proceeds from the sale will be reinvested at other sites within the Darby Group, as part of a longer term strategic plan.
© AFX News

Deceuninck signing contracts like ink was going out of fashion!
 
Deceuninck, developer and producer of PVC-U window systems and building profiles, has signed a 5-year exclusive supply agreement with three of the UK's largest window manufacturers: Shepley Window Systems, Select Window & Door Systems and Affordable Windows. Deceuninck will supply these fabricators with dedicated window and door profiles. The contracts are worth over 32 million euro for the 5-year contract period.

Shepley Window Systems Co Ltd., the Manchester based fabricator, supplies the trade market and is currently manufacturing over 3500 frames per week. Initially the agreement will replace a part of the business, but this is set to grow considerably in the following years. This 5-year contract is worth circa 16 million euro. Shepley is a recognised trade frames supply and realises sales of about 29 million euro.

Select Window & Door Systems is a trade fabricator based in Maldon, South East England. The company currently has sales of 11 million euro and already enjoys a close relationship with Status Systems, the Deceuninck subsidiary in the North of England. The new contract with Deceuninck Ltd (Calne) reinforces their commitment to Deceuninck products. Select currently manufactures 1200 windows per week with ambitions to grow significantly in 2002. The new contract is estimated to be worth a minimum of 8 million euro over the 5-year term.

Affordable Windows is a Trade fabricator based in Lancashire, Northern England and realises sales of approx. 13 million euro. Deceuninck expects to develop this account to build considerably on its existing volumes of circa 1000 frames per week. The contract is based on a minimum spend of 8 million euro for the 5 year contract period.

A company spokesman said: 'All three are working with Deceuninck as part of the company's Large Customer Approach. This unique long-term customer strategy was developed to sit alongside the company's Traditional Customer Approach. This guarantees a direct response to the changing PVC-U profile needs of a fast emerging sector of the window fabrication market. Large-scale exclusivity is developed for the larger manufacturers, while the company's more specialised traditional fabricators receive dedicated support to ensure continued prominence in the market place.'

The aim of Deceuninck Ltd and Status is to work closely with all their customers, helping them develop their businesses and maximise on market opportunities. By overhauling the administrative and operational infrastructure at their Calne based extrusion plant they have been able to create a two-pronged approach to give a balanced commitment,' adds Clement De Meersman, Deceuninck's CEO.

Assa Abloy continue global acquisition trail with Spanish Conquest

TESA, a leading Spanish lock company has been acquired by worldwide lock group Assa Abloy for £85m. The acquisition will create goodwill of approximately SEK 600 M which will be tax deductible. Due to the hotel lock demerger process the acquisition will initially be EPS dilutive but positive from 2003, the company says.

Highlights are:
* Sales in 2001 expected to reach EUR 100m
* Reinforces ASSA ABLOY's position in the Spanish market
* Brings additional expertise in electromechanical locking solutions into the Group
* Strong historic profitability TESA, originally part of the Yale Intruder acquisition in beginning of 2000 was deferred due to pending regulatory approval in the US. After close down of the subcontracted manufacturing for the sellers hotel locks business, approval has been received and the acquisition was completed today.

TESA, is located with its main factory in Irun in northern Spain. The company exports 55% of it's sales, mainly to Central- and Latin America, East Europe, France and Italy. Subsidiaries in Mexico and France are part of the acquisition. The company is a leading producer of cylinders, tubular lock cases and advanced electromechanical products. The product portfolio includes a full product program, including security doors.

TESA has shown stable growth and strong profitability. The demerger process of the subcontracting hotel lock business will initially result in a volume drop and lower earnings. Corrective actions are being taken. Synergies with other Group companies, especially in the South Europe region, are substantial and will help to bring back the company to it’s former performance level.

'It has been a long period for the employees between the first announcement of our new owners in March 2000 until that we now finally can become a part of the ASSA ABLOY Group. We are all pleased that the deal is done and are looking forward towards developing business with our new sister companies', says José Agustin Telleria, managing director of TESA.

'TESA is one of the leaders in our industry in South Europe. It is a well-managed company with lots of skills, tradition and pride. Their presence will strengthen our position in the region and also on the continued development of strategic products'. Says Carl-Henric Svanberg, president and CEO of ASSA ABLOY AB.

Tel: +46 8 506 485 00, Fax: +46 8 506 485 85
www.assaabloy.com
Click Here for the last Financial Results

The ASSA ABLOY Group is the world's leading manufacturer and supplier of locking solutions, dedicated to satisfying end-user needs for security, safety and convenience. Current sales for the Group are in excess of SEK 20 billion (approximately USD 2 billion) and the number of employees is more than 25,000.

Patricia Hewitt opens Speed Frame's shiny new £10.5m factory

Trade and Industry Secretary Patricia Hewitt has officially opened a Rotherham company's new £10.5 million hi-tech production facility.

Ian Harrison and Patricia Hewitt: celebrating a solidly based Yorkshire firm

Speed Frame PVCu Windows Ltd was awarded a £750,000 DTI Regional Selective Assistance grant last year to set up the state-of-the-art glass toughening and sealed unit production plant. The company expects to recruit a further 250 workers as a result of the development.
The new plant allows Speed Frame to use the very latest technology to manufacture its own complete window systems for new buildings, while also meeting the Government's energy efficiency standards for buildings.

Ms Hewitt opened the plant during a tour of the new plant at Goldthorpe Road and said 'It is great to see how DTI assistance is helping manufacturers such as Speed Frame, so it is with great pleasure that I am opening the new facility today.

'With this new plant Speed Frame has successfully demonstrated how a readiness to respond quickly to market demands can pay off.

'This new facility will inject a new energy into the region with its leading edge technology. I am also pleased to see that Speed Frame has also considered environmental, as well as economic, sustainability when developing the plant.

'It is this innovative and forward looking approach that will help Speed Frame keep its competitive edge which is very often the difference between a company succeeding or standing still.'
Since it began trading in 1994, Speed Frame has expanded at a rapid pace increasing its turnover from £8.2m in 1996 to £26m in 2000. The company now occupies a 6,300 sq mts unit on the Goldthorpe Industrial Estate dedicated to sealed unit production for use solely in Speed Frame's windows. This new factory sits alongside Speed Frame's other production units at Goldthorpe, these being a replacement window production unit covering 4,900 sq mts, together with a dedicated new build window production unit as well as a distribution centre.

Speed Frame already have major supply agreements with Bellway, Beazer Homes and Alfred McAlpine and see the company's continued growth being powered by the buoyant residential construction industry.

Contact Barbara Speak at Speed Frame on 01709 888005

Ultraframe blames UK weather for dip, then attacks France

Ultraframe, the Lancashire-based conservatory roofing specialist, said bad weather dented the group's performance in the year to September 28 as demand dropped in the first half and delayed traditional summer sales, says a report in the Financial Times.

David Moore, chief executive, said the results also reflected the completion of a two-year investment programme in infrastructure and aquisitions that would provide a platform for growth. This includes a plucky investment in an 'interior design' product Ultraselect, a 'dado rail' for the conservatory which has been designed with the Changings Rooms generation in mind (while offering potentially handsome profits to its installers...).

The firm has also switched creative agencies to launch an assault directly on the consumer market, by retaining Camron, the authors of 'It does what it Says on the Tin' for another (then) wannabee building products manufacturer. Mind you, I know at least three people who also claim to have invented that phrase. (ED: yeah, like IBM invented the Computer Game!).

Pre-tax profits for the year fell to £24.6m (from last year's profits of £27.5m) on sales up from £81.8m to £100.9m, of which £11.7m was attributable to acquisitions (mainly being Four Seasons, of course).

This is the first time Ultraframe has reported a drop in full-year profits since floating in October 1997, and one can't hep reflecting that 'He Who Lives by the Market also Dies by the Market'.

However, David Moore said it had been a 'strategically important' year as Ultraframe positioned itself for expansion. 'We will focus on growth in the UK and North America, but also aim to build sales in the medium term in continental Europe, particularly in France'.

The company also talked of the way in which the conservatory market has changed from being a retirement purchase ('Dreamers') into the 'I Want it and I Want it NOW' (ie: bosh the credit card).

The acquisition in July for £88.8m of Four Seasons, a US-based conservatory company, represented a significant step in Ultraframe's strategy to build its presence in North America.

The company is paying a final dividend of 6.65p (6.4p), taking the pay-out for the year to 9.35p (9p), payable from earnings per share of 17.9p (21p).

Ultraframe's shares, which fell sharply after it warned in March that bad weather would slow sales growth, rose 18p on December 5 to close at 244.5p.

Havelock Europa announces 200 redundancies

The group, which fits out shops and banks such as Boots and Lloyds TSB, will shut a plant in Eastwood, Nottingham, and then offer for sale the buildings and land.

Although 200 jobs from Havelock's 900-strong UK workforce will go in Nottingham, the group says it will create 90 jobs in Scotland.

It says it will transfer a proportion of its timber processing machines to Dalgety Bay, Fife.

Commenting on the move, chief executive Hew Balfour says: 'It has got a business logic. It has an unfortunate side, but it will make the group much stronger and more attractive in terms of delivering shareholder value.'

Havelock says the restructuring will allow it to create centres of excellence for its interiors business in Scotland.

It expects the move will create annual savings of £2 million, at a one-off cost of £3.75 million.
Havelock says the consultation process with the workforce in Nottingham should be completed by the end of February, and its rationalisation plan should be fully implemented by early April.

In addition to the Nottingham and Fife plants, Havelock has graphic printing sites in Bristol and at Letchworth in Hertfordshire, as well as a joint venture in the Middle East.

The group says trading for the year to December 31 is in line with expectations. It says 'intensely competitive conditions' for UK retail interiors is offsetting strong performances from its point of sale display business ESA McIntosh, which makes items such as posters for shops, and its Middle Eastern interiors business.