end-user marketing geosynthetics / advanced composites - TenCate

TenCate business model
CONNECTED THROUGH END-USER MARKETING – TENCATE GEOSYNTHETICS
Strengthening
and supporting
TenCate Geosynthetics produces wovens (woven materials), non-wovens (fleeces) and grids in the United States,
the Netherlands, Malaysia and China. These are supplied worldwide and applied in infrastructure, civil engineering,
the building trade, and the environment sector. The market group is divided into four business units: separation & filtration
(non-wovens), reinforcement & paving (fabrics, grids and non-wovens), water & environment and industrial fabrics.
Examples of applications are motorway and
railway installations, reinforced retaining
walls and slopes (mechanically stabilized
earth), erosion control and bank protection,
waste processing, water management and
the monitoring of vital structures such as
water basins. Geosynthetics are part of the
total construction. Although they are nearly
always out of sight, they perform an important
supporting and strengthening function and
therefore have functional added value.
Often the materials must satisfy national
and/or international norms or standards.
That’s why the group works according to
a solution-oriented systems approach
Functional added value
Within the framework of end-user marketing,
TenCate Geosynthetics is seeking not only
reinforcement of its position in the project
market, but also local cooperation with
partners in emerging markets and a stronger
position in ‘green construction’. In the United
States and South America, TenCate is pursuing
4 txtures | number 3 | autumn 2011
a pull-through strategy that targets end-users
with technical support and promotion. In this
respect the engineering business manager is
devoting his efforts to getting specifications
established with end-users and influencers
in the project design chain. Civil engineers,
executing agencies and contractors can also
obtain technical advice and support regarding
the use of geosynthetics. TenCate’s technical
specialists know how to translate a basic
design into materials and characteristics.
Presence
The biggest markets are Asia, the United
States and - on the European scale - France,
Germany, Scandinavia and the United Kingdom.
China, India and South America are emerging
markets as far as the use of geosynthetics is
concerned. No other geosynthetics provider
rivals TenCate in terms of worldwide presence.
Local presence means that the sales personnel
speak the local language and are familiar with
the culture, which often proves advantageous
for TenCate. Although in a large majority of
cases, product (specification) and price are
the assessment criteria, a contract is also
awarded on the basis of tender acceptance
(‘know and award’) and reference projects.
Geosynthetics is still a growth market in Asia
and South America. TenCate Geosynthetics
is working to strengthen its position in
this rapidly growing region, partly through
the acquisition of geosynthetics activities
by Emas Kiara in Malaysia. This applies
especially to applications in environmental
and infrastructural projects and water
management. Efforts in the field of (end-user)
marketing have also been intensified in Central
America, with TenCate seeking cooperation
with local partners in emerging markets.
Diversity of end-users
The four business units of TenCate
Geosynthetics serve a diversity of customers
and end-users, including landowners,
project developers (commercial and house
building) and distributors, contractors,
power companies, the mining industry,
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