Annual report 2008 - Comrod

The Industrial Products business area is a quality supplier of ‘dedicatedapplications’ for the oil and gas industryBusiness Area Industrial ProductsFULL FOCUS ONOIL AND gASThe company Lerc SAS in Northern Franceis home to the Group’s Industrial Productsbusiness area.The ‘dedicated applications’ niche productsare mainly targeted at the oil and gasindustry.PRODUCTS & PRODUCT DEVELOPMENTIndustrial products are based on the sameadvanced use of composite materialsand the same production technology asthe products in the Antennas and Mastsbusiness areas. Utilizing this cross-referenceexperience puts the company in a strongposition when it comes to responding to theneeds of demanding customers for nicheproducts.Dedicated applicationsIn 2008, Lerc continued serial productionKEY FIGURES BUSINESS AREA INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTS(NOK 1000) 2008 2007 2006 1)Revenues 29 277 33 002 26 239Operating profit (EBIT) (1 173) 2 374 (105)1)The 2006 numbers are pro forma figuresof a competitive range of products for theoil industry, based on the highly demanding“logging while drilling” equipment market.2008 was the right time to start working onexpanding the product range consideringthe potential integration of complementarytechnologies that would allow Lerc toprovide a global, integrated solution for itscustomers.Lerc expects to implement this potentialevolution and increase volumes and improveprofit margins as a result.MARKETS AND OUTLOOKOil related applicationsAs the products delivered to the oil industryare recent ones, their future potential isinteresting and they should result in stabilityand positive margins for 2009.The market is still demanding newtechnology, which provides a basis for Lerc’sdevelopment.As a result of the continued weakdevelopment of insulator products, thecompany has decided to phase out thisactivity during the first half of 2009.TIMELINEBUSINESS AREAINDUSTRIALPRODUCT2005New strategy for IndustrialProducts: Focus onOil Industry, Railways &tactical propulsion2005Development of a newapplication for the “OilIndustry”2006Set up in production ofthe new “Oil Industry”product2006Qualification of a new“Design To Cost” rangeof Railways insulatorsComrod Communication Group Annual report 2008 23