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Surteco Group

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Purchase agreement for the acquisition of Omnova business units was completed today

Surteco Group SE announces the closing of the acquisition of Omnova’s laminates and performance films and coated fabrics businesses from Synthomer PLC on 13 December 2022. See also our announcement of 13 December HERE.

The businesses specialise in the production and distribution of laminates, films and vinyl coated fabrics at facilities in the USA and Thailand. This acquisition is an important step in the implementation of the focused internationalisation as part of the company’s strategy. The product offering in the USA complements Surteco’s existing laminates, foils and edgebandings business in North America and vinyl-coated fabrics will be another mainstay to diversify markets and products.

The business will be operated from locations in Ohio, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, South Carolina, Mississippi, Ontario, Canada and Rayong, Thailand.

On a full-year basis, sales in North America are expected to exceed $300 million and also on a full-year basis, sales for the Surteco Group are expected to exceed one billion euros.

“This acquisition will strengthen our market position for decorative surfaces in North America and represents a significant step for the sustainable development of the Surteco Group. I would like to extend a warm welcome to our new employees at Surteco. I would also like to thank the project team including our US-based CEO and CFO Mike Phillips and Gudrun Pechtold and especially Larry Schorr. His extensive experience and commitment were critical to the successful completion,” said Wolfgang Moyses, CEO of Surteco Group SE.

The businesses will operate as Omnova North America, Inc. and Omnova Engineered Surfaces Co, Ltd. within the Surteco North America entity and report directly to Chairman Wolfgang Moyses and Deputy Chairman Larry Schorr.

Surteco Group SE was advised on this transaction by Fredericks Michael & Co, an investment bank with offices in New York, London and Sao Paulo. www.fm-co.com. Legal advice was provided by Brouse McDowell. www.brouse.com

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Dieffenbacher

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Indian MDF pioneer orders third plant

India’s largest MDF producer, Greenpanel Industries Ltd, has ordered an MDF plant from Dieffenbacher for the third time. Greenpanel pioneered the Indian MDF market in 2010 with the commissioning of the first continuous wood-based panel plant on the subcontinent – a Dieffenbacher MDF plant in Rudrapur, Uttarakhand. In 2018, a second plant was added in Routhusuramala, Andhra Pradesh – another milestone, as the 56-meter CPS is the longest continuous press in Asia. The new thin-plate line based on Dieffenbacher’s “Cebro” smart-plant concept is now also being built at the same site.

“In the past two years, we have been able to expand our MDF production capacity from 500,000 to 660,000 m³, but the demand for our high-quality boards produced on our Dieffenbacher lines is still much higher,” explains Shobhan Mittal, managing director and CEO of Greenpanel. “Since we had such a good experience with our first two MDF plants from Dieffenbacher, there was no question for us that we would order our third plant from Dieffenbacher as well. The CEBRO Smart Plant concept added another plus point that made the decision very easy for us.”

For the new CEBRO line, which is scheduled to start up in Routhusuramala in the summer of 2024, Greenpanel has ordered from Dieffenbacher the fiber dryer, the classifier, the forming station and forming train, the CPS+ continuous press system including press exhaust air cleaning system, the raw board transport system and the new Wireless STS raw board storage system. The Dieffenbacher scope of supply also includes the MyDieffenbacher digital service platform and the new “Evoris” digitizing solution.

“‘Evoris’ is a great digitization system that will help us make even better decisions within a very short time,” Mittal said. “That’s why we decided to use ,Evoris’ not only in our new plant, but also to retrofit it in our existing MDF plant in Routhusuramala,” he concludes.

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Pressekonferenz Liga 2023, Gruppenbild (v.l.nach r.) Bernd Oswald, GROPYUS, Markus Hüllmann, Vorsitzender VDMA Holzbearbeitungsmaschinen, Stephanie Wagner, Projektleitung LIGNA , Prof. Achim Menges, Universität Stuttgart, Dr. Jochen Köckler, Vorsitzender des Vorstandes, Deutsche Messe AG, Hannover Foto: Deutsche Messe AG
"Ligna" 2023

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The industry is looking forward to “its” leading world trade fair

Over 105,000 square metres of exhibition space and more than 1,100 exhibitors: “Ligna” 2023 (15-19 May 2023) celebrates its return to presence with a comprehensive overview of the woodworking and wood processing industry. Despite the tense global political situation, the positive booking status confirms the status of “Ligna” as the world’s leading trade fair. Global players and renowned companies from all over the world come together to present tools, machines and plants as well as smart solutions and new technologies. In addition to companies from Germany, companies from Italy, Austria, Turkey, Spain, China, Sweden, Slovenia, Denmark and the Netherlands make up the largest proportion of exhibitors in terms of area. The world’s leading trade fair was even able to expand its exhibitor portfolio: more than 180 first-time exhibitors want to benefit from the opportunities for business initiation and networking this year.

“Ligna offers a unique overview of the entire value chain of the woodworking and wood processing industry. It is THE international showcase for innovations and THE stage for world firsts. A great wave of euphoria has been reaching us from the community since planning began. The industry is looking forward to the personal experience in Hanover,” said Dr. Jochen Köckler, Chairman of the Board of Deutsche Messe AG, emphasising the importance of the event at the media preview “Ligna.Preview” on 16 February in Hanover. “At ‘Ligna’ 2023, visitors will meet exhibitors from 44 countries. This is where trends are set and discussed that shape the industry and point the way to the future.”

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"Automatica"

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Second edition in twelve months – new rhythm

Just one year after returning from its unscheduled break, “Automatica” – leading exhibition for smart automation and robotics – will be held again from June 27 to 30, 2023. This is due to a change in its rhythm. From now on, the international automation industry will meet at the Munich exhibition center in odd years, side by side with “Laser World of Photonics” – World’s Leading Trade Fair with Congress for Photonics Components, Systems and Applications.

Anja Schneider, Exhibition Director, is optimistic about the event coming up this summer: “Our lives are increasingly affected by global challenges such as supply chain issues and lack of specialists. Robotics and automation are key technologies offering suitable solutions in this context. It takes smart automation and digital networking to make production economical and sustainable. And automatica in Munich showcases how that works.”

The halls are filling up and the attendance of companies representing the entire value chain of robotics and automation is confirmed around four and a half months prior to the event. Confirmed robotics exhibitors include ABB, Fanuc, Kawasaki, Kuka, Stäubli, Universal Robotics, and Yaskawa.

The field of assembly and handling technology is represented by Afag, Bosch Rexroth, BBS Automation, Deprag, Festo, Hahn Group, Mikron, PIA Automation, Schaeffler, Schunk, and Weber Schraubautomaten. Machine vision exhibitors include Basler, Carl Zeiss, Cognex, IDS, MVTec, VMT, and Visio Nerf. In addition, renowned exhibitors such as Beckhoff, Heidenhain, Ifm, as well as Murrelektronik and Siemens will present their products and solutions in Munich.

Apart from the leading automation industry companies, lots of exciting newcomers are on board as well. “We are also seeing positive economic forecasts for automation and robotics – creating bright prospects for an exciting and rewarding ,Automatica’ 2023,” Anja Schneider sums up.

“Automatica” 2023 focuses on three key topics: Digital Integration and AI, Sustainable Production, and Future of Work. The area of Digital Integration and AI addresses topics such as augmented/virtual reality and digital twins. Sustainable Production is composed of CO2 neutrality, circular economy, capacity for change and AI, and green tech. The Future of Work is closely related to concepts such as human-machine collaboration, service robotics, and mobile robotics. The purpose is to make automation accessible to SMEs and less automated non-manufacturing sectors under the slogan ‘ease-of-use’, thus enabling them to compensate for the shortage of skilled workers.

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Henkel

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Online seminar presents options for the future of sustainable furniture

As the world seeks solutions to environmental challenges, the furniture industry must meet changing consumer expectations and increasingly ambitious regulatory demands. The products of today and tomorrow must not only delight aesthetically but also provide consumers with sustainable and environmentally friendly choices. Consequently, the concept of sustainable furniture elements has become an increasingly urgent topic.

Henkel is proud to host a special online seminar to showcase four pioneering companies that are taking on the sustainability challenge to facilitate sharing of best practices along the value chain. Held on February 23 at 11.00am – 12.00pm CET the free online seminar looks at potential solutions and the exciting opportunities available within the furniture industry.

Henkel is one of the world’s leading providers of qualified and customized adhesives and advanced system solutions for the woodworking and furniture industry. It offers first-class products, a high level of expertise in process optimization as well as complete solutions that provide the foundation for successful cooperation with its customers.

Moritz Ultsch, Head of Market Strategy for Furniture & Building Components at Henkel, explains why sustainability is increasingly at the heart of these relationships: “As a company, Henkel is committed to taking a lead on sustainability and this includes supporting our customers and partners in succeeding through solutions that enable sustainable developments. To meet the scope of the sustainability challenge, we believe that the furniture sector must come together to share best practices, embrace innovation and drive collaboration across the value chain to accelerate the pace of change. As a partner to the industry, we are proud to facilitate this process through initiatives such as this online seminar on improving the sustainability of furniture elements.”

The online seminar will feature four companies that have chosen different approaches to becoming more sustainable, how the diverse approaches could be combined. The companies’ and their solutions include:

• Evertree which offers a new plant-based binder solution for MDF panels. The approach ensures that the furniture is made from sustainable materials and reduces the carbon footprint of the furniture element.

• The use of decorative foils based on recycled raw materials is pushed forward by Renolit. Their solution contributes to circularity and provides a sustainable alternative to traditional materials.

• BASF supports the path towards sustainability transformation across the value chain by offering a biomass-balanced raw material for adhesives. This approach allows fossil fuels to be replaced by renewable raw materials in BASF’s Production Verbund. Henkel can consequently offer an adhesive with a significantly reduced carbon footprint to their customers. This enables the production of furniture elements with a significant total reduction of fossil-based raw materials.

• At the end, all three solutions are incorporated into a final product – a 3D laminated furniture cabinet door.

“These four companies have chosen different approaches to becoming more sustainable, but their goal remains the same – to create furniture elements that are both aesthetically pleasing and eco-friendly, ” concludes Moritz Ultsch. “We are excited to see the results of this exchange and hope that it will inspire others to develop joint sustainable solutions for the furniture industry.”

The online seminar is free to registered participants and will be available to view live on Feb 23rd at 11.00 CET. To register, please register here: Webinar registration | Microsoft Teams.

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Hettich

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Ten percent increase in sales in 2022

Hettich generated 1.5 billion euros in fiscal 2022, representing growth of ten percent. This sales growth was fed by both volumes and higher prices. In 2021, the company had even grown by 26 percent. The foreign share was 74 percent. Among foreign markets, the U.S. and India were strong. In China, Hettich had to accept significant declines due to the lockdown policy there and the real estate crisis.

Hettich invested 125 million euros globally in new products, buildings and machinery. Currently, Hettich employs around 8,000 people around the globe, almost 3,800 of them in Germany.

The upturn in demand in the furnishings market, which had begun in the 2nd half of 2020, continued until mid-2022. The topics of beautiful living and furnishing as well as Do-It-Yourself were highly popular with consumers worldwide. Many people were investing in their own four walls. The Hettich Group did its best to work with its customers to provide as many end consumers as possible with new, beautiful furnishing solutions. Hettich supported the trend of DIY projects with its solutions for the Do-It-Yourself sector. The long high in the furniture market was followed in the second half of the year by a noticeable reluctance to buy on the part of end consumers in many countries. High inflation rates in most regions of the world as well as rising electricity and gas costs caused prices for Hettich as a company and for end consumers to soar in 2022. “Goods for daily use, energy and furniture became more expensive, so that end consumers in many regions of the world began to reprioritize their purchasing decisions in 2022,” says Jana Schönfeld, Managing Director of the Hettich Group.

Hettich is also prepared with regard to possible gas bottlenecks. “But we have to accept much higher costs,” explains Sascha Groß, Managing Director of the Hettich Group. Thus, both liquid gas and electrical energy can be used as alternatives to the gas requirement in the manufacturing process. Support is also to be provided by processes for energy saving and recovery, as these are particularly sustainable. “It is very important for us to prepare for a possible gas shortage in order to remain a reliable and transparent partner for our customers even in such challenging times,” confirms Groß. “Of course, we welcome the fact that the German government wants to relieve the burden on companies by putting the brakes on prices.” Whether and in what form Hettich in Germany will be able to take advantage of the resolved electricity and gas price brakes at all is currently not foreseeable. The reason for this lies in the complex design of the price brakes.

“We have used the last few months to network even more closely across locations, to come up with new ideas together, to improve our processes across the board and, above all, to have fun working together,” Schönfeld is pleased to report.

At a first global Hettich learning event called Future Days, colleagues spent three days sharing their knowledge and being inspired by impulses from external experts. “Our colleagues organized a total of 62 online events and numerous face-to-face events at our sites around the world,” says Groß enthusiastically about the new learning format, which focused on strategy topics. In addition, a Germany-wide company party was held with 1,700 colleagues in the Bielefeld locomotive shed. At the end of the year, around 230 colleagues around the world took part in a joint Christmas video, thus ensuring even greater cohesion at Hettich.

Last year, the Hettich Group invested 125 million euros in new products, infrastructure projects, buildings, plants, software for digitalization, but also in capacity expansions. “For example, the construction of our multifunctional production hall in Kirchlengern is progressing. We were able to celebrate the topping-out ceremony at the beginning of February, for example, and are pleased that everything is progressing according to schedule,” informs Groß.

Challenges such as high steel prices as well as energy and freight costs, geopolitical risks and an uncertain gas supply will continue to accompany the company. Likewise, Hettich expects local Corona restrictions and a continued tight supply chain in 2023. “At the same time, we are confident that we will meet these challenges as a strong team. Our colleagues around the world do a great job every year and we will be able to rely on our reliable suppliers and partners also in 2023,” Schönfeld describes the strong cohesion.

“We are not just looking at the next few months, but thinking long-term,” adds Groß. “The various regions of the world in which we are active are developing very differently. Therefore, we will continue to flexibly adapt to the different needs of our customers in different countries and take advantage of opportunities as they arise.” Hettich is looking with confidence at global growth potential and will utilize free production capacities for existing and new customers.

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Lectra

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35 per cent more turnover and over 50 per cent higher net profit

Last week, Lectra’s Board of Directors, chaired by Daniel Harari, reviewed the consolidated financial statements for the 2022 financial year. The corresponding report will be published at the end of the Board meeting on 23 February 2023.

In the difficult environment with the Russia-Ukraine war and its repercussions, the ongoing Corona restrictions in the important export market of China and exchange rate fluctuations, the Lectra Group performed well.

Turnover in 2022 was 521.9 million euros and EBITDA before non-recurring items was 98.4 million euros – both in line with the targets published in February 2022, which were clarified in July and confirmed in October.

Turnover increased by 35 per cent and EBITDA before one-offs by 51 per cent compared to the financial statements published in 2021. The EBITDA margin before one-off items was 18.8 per cent. Profit from operations before one-off items, at 68.5 million euros, increased by 54 per cent. This includes a charge of 11.8 million euros for the amortisation of intangible assets resulting from the acquisitions of Gerber, Neteven, Gemini and the Glengo Teknoloji activity. After taking into account a one-off charge of 4.0 million euros in 2022, the operating result was 64.5 million euros.

Net profit at €43.8 million increased by 55 per cent. Free cash flow before one-offs at 43.7 million euros was slightly down compared to 2021 due to a temporary increase in working capital requirements.

On 8 December 2022, Lectra announced the signing of an agreement to acquire the majority of the capital and voting rights of the Dutch company Textilegenesis – the transaction was completed on 9 January 2023.

At 31 December 2022, the Group had a particularly robust balance sheet, with consolidated equity of €452.2 million (€400.8 million at 31 December 2021) and a positive net cash position of €11.4 million, less than two years after the acquisition of Gerber. Working capital requirements were negative at 6.3 million euros.

The Board of Directors will propose to the Shareholders’ Meeting on 28 April 2023 to distribute a dividend of 0.48 euros per share for the 2022 financial year.

A new strategic roadmap for 2023 to 2025: Launched in 2017, the Lectra 4.0 strategy aims to position Lectra as the most significant player in Industry 4.0 in its three strategic market areas of fashion, automotive and furniture by 2030. The strategy has so far been implemented through two strategic roadmaps covering the periods 2017 to 2019 and 2020 to 2022. This will continue with a new strategic roadmap for 2023 to 2025.

The Group intends to take full advantage of its changed scale – especially after the acquisition of Gerber in June 2021 – to accelerate growth, significantly increase the share of “Software as a Service” (SaaS) in revenue and take advantage of acquisition opportunities. With employee engagement and customer recognition, Lectra aims to lead the way in building a more sustainable future.

To achieve these goals, the Group has identified six priorities until 2025:

– Strengthening the implementation of ethical, social, societal and environmental best practices both internally and towards customers.

– Exploit all synergies arising from the acquisition of Gerber

– Accelerate the transformation of software sales to the SaaS model

– Accelerate the transformation of the Group’s customer relationship and retention model

– Continuation of external growth following the two previous roadmaps;

– Preparing Lectra for the period 2026 to 2030.

These six strategic priorities provide the Group with a structure for the work required to achieve the ambitious goals of its strategic roadmap. They are explained in detail in the Financial Report on Operations and the Consolidated Financial Statements for the fourth quarter and the 2022 financial year.

Lectra aims to achieve revenues of over €700 million (including 10% SaaS revenues) in 2025, combining both organic growth and acquisitions and an EBITDA margin before one-offs of over 20%. These targets have been set based on the exchange rates prevailing on 30 December 2022, specifically US$1.07 per euro.

The Company intends to maintain its attractive payout policy to shareholders, with dividends expected to represent a payout ratio of approximately 40 per cent of net profit excluding non-recurring items over the roadmap period.

Free cash flow generation will also help fund the Group’s internal development strategy and acquisitions, as well as repay debt.

Outlook for 2023: Despite the continued uncertainty for 2023, Lectra, which has a particularly strong balance sheet and a proven business model with a very high proportion of recurring revenue, will continue to invest to prioritise medium-term growth.

Due to the exceptionally high order backlog at 1 January 2022 (€4.3 million higher than the order backlog at 1 January 2023) and the very high number of orders booked in January 2022, i.e. before the start of the war in Ukraine, revenue for the first quarter of 2023 is expected to be slightly lower than in the first quarter of 2022. Combined with the increase in overheads, this decrease is also expected to lead to a decrease in EBIDTA before one-offs.

Lectra projects 2023 sales between €522 million and €576 million (+2% to +12% at constant exchange rates compared to 2022) and EBITDA before non-recurring items between €90 million and €113 million (-5% to +20% at constant exchange rates compared to 2022).

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Smartfactory-KL

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Transfer4Production – State Secretary for Economics Dick-Walther announces funding approved

Implementation of technical Industrie 4.0 solutions at small and medium sized companies is a challenge for industry and government. By launching Transfer4Production (T4P), the Economics Ministry takes an important step in getting Rhineland-Palatinate’s manufacturing companies up to speed for the future production environment. The vision of Industrie 4.0 (I40) started to spread around the world from Kaiserslautern in 2011. The world’s first I40 demonstrator was introduced by Smartfactory-KL (SF-KL) at the Hannover Messe (industry trade fair) in 2014, and SF-KL has been pioneering the production of tomorrow ever since.

Manufacturing companies benefit from the fact that Industrie 4.0 is a model research priority in Rhineland-Palatinate. “We have been working for years on this topic in Kaiserslautern and we developed shared production to represent the production world of the future,” said Prof. Martin Ruskowski, CEO of Smartfactory-KL. He added, “This involves the use of key enabling technologies like digital twins, 5G, artificial intelligence, and operational safety intelligence.” Petra Dick-Walther, a state secretary in Rhineland-Palatinate’s Ministry of Economic Affairs, supports the continued development of Industrie 4.0 and has awarded funding for the Transfer4Production project in the amount of 430,000 euros. “SMEs characterize the strong manufacturing sector in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate. Manufacturing accounts for nearly 30 percent of the state’s value creation and it is so very important for companies to have systematic access to innovative technologies so they can remain competitive in the future. Smartfactory Kaiserslautern would like the Transfer4Production project to offer companies a networking platform where they can retrieve information and plan their specific implementation process with partners throughout the state,” said State Secretary Petra Dick-Walther.

Transfer means getting scientific developments into useful applications, while at the same time aligning scientific activities in recognition of the needs of business and industry. Establishing personal contacts and networks is key to successful transfer. “The need for transfer continues to grow during this 4th Industrial Revolution. We learned this from our joint development of Industrie 4.0 solutions with our members. But, we also notice it in an increasing number of requests from SMEs,” said Ruskowski. That’s why T4P holds workshops with companies and has organized a network of companies, associations, and research institutes. Transfer4Production provides support for specific issues like production architecture, manufacturing infrastructure, artificial intelligence in a production environment, digital twins, secure data space, and 5G applications in a production setting, etc. A wide range of knowledge and experience is available to Smartfactory-KL thanks to its connections to RPTU Kaiserslautern-Landau and the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence. But, the main problem is to be found elsewhere. “Many companies are simply not aware that the state and federal governments are promoting measures to digitalize production. It’s our job to assist them,” said T4P project manager Svenja Knetsch.

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"International Woodworking Fair"

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Generous donation

The “International Woodworking Fair” – North America’s largest global wood industry technology and design event—is contributing $12,500 in unrestricted funds to the “Manufacturing Industry Learning Lab ” (Mill, Colorado Springs, Colorado), for the advancement of its mission to promote a stronger trade workforce in Colorado. “Mill” exists to expand opportunities for learners and offer students trade career paths in Cabinet Manufacturing, Construction Technology and Welding Technology.

For more than a half century, the “International Woodworking Fair” has served the ever-expanding needs of wood industry equipment and technology manufacturers and service providers and the tens of thousands of buyers attending its bi-annual trade show and conference produced every other August in Atlanta at the Georgia World Congress Center. The “IWF” contribution extends its long-standing commitment to industry advancement, innovation and education as evidenced in the “IWF” Education Conference, the “IWF Challengers Distinguished Achievement Award” and the “IWF Design Emphasis Student Furniture Design” competition.

“Mill” students receive hands-on experience using state-of-the-art manufacturing equipment and Computer Numerical Controlled (CNC) machines. With the potential for completing four school years of training before entering the workforce, “Mill” students begin their career paths fully prepared for immediate productivity. “Mill” Cabinet Manufacturing and Welding Technology students have the opportunity to enter into internships with Colorado businesses. “Mill” students enrolled in Cabinet Manufacturing are tasked with producing the cabinets needed for the Careers in Construction (CICC) home build project. Upon completion of year-one Cabinet Manufacturing study, students learn additional skills, including electrical and plumbing. Students who have completed two years of Cabinet Manufacturing classes have the opportunity to earn an industry-recognized certification called the Woodwork Career Alliance (WCA) certificate.

The $12,500 “IWF” contribution was unanimously approved by the “IWF” 2022 Management Committee members who are representatives of the Woodworking Machinery Industry Association (WMIA) and Wood Machinery Manufacturers of America (WMMA), the owners of the “IWF” show.

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