Annual Report 2008 English [PDF, 2.69 MB] - Tessenderlo Group

annual report 2008
44
In this context, the business unit
concentrated its activities on the European
continent in Benelux and France. The
introduction of new window systems and
the improvement of existing products meet
new market requirements with respect to
durable and energy-efficient construction
materials.
New window systems
meet the demand
for durable and
energy-efficient
building
The strategy of creating synergies between
Wymar (Belgium) and Plastival (France)
gained momentum during 2008.
The situation in the United States was
even less favourable than in 2007. The
number of new-build and renovation
projects alike dropped dramatically. With
the introduction of new products, Chelsea
Building Products (CBP) again succeeded
in confining the sales decline to less than
10 % while the market contracted overall
by 20 %. Due to the dollar exchange
rate, high raw material prices in the
United States had a stronger impact on
profitability than in Europe.
In 2008, efforts were made in the
development of composite windows,
where metal is replaced with plastic.
This important innovation has the major
benefit that own materials can be used and
purchasing of metal can be limited.
Sales of Chelsea
Building Products (US)
fell less than the market
average
Wymar, which produces PVC profiles for
windows and doors, as well as interior and
exterior finishing systems, is continuing
to develop new, lead-free systems. The
objective in the long term is to phase out
lead as a material to stabilise PVC. Thanks
to the wider range of products, sales of
these new environment-friendly systems
are increasing while the share of the
traditional systems is dropping.
In Canada, an oil-producing country, the
impact of the economic crisis was only
felt at the end of the year, when oil prices
began to drop. Slightly higher sales could
not compensate for raw material price
increases which meant profitability also
decreased in this country.
In 2008, the merger of the production units
in Jonquière and Montreal on one site