sia Abrasives: above-average growth in sales (04/02/2003)
Order books full for 2003 at sia Abrasives Industries AG
Despite the turndown in the economy, sia Abrasives recorded an increase in global sales for 2002 of 12% expressed in local currencies, which was in part the result of acquisitions. In Swiss francs, sales totalled CHF 241.1 million, which represents growth of 8.4% over the previous year (CHF 222.3 million). The current year is also bringing gratifying results: incoming orders and orders on hand are far in excess of year-back levels.
Despite the tough economic climate, sia Abrasives succeeded in increasing sales expressed in local currencies by 12% during 2002. Internal growth amounted to some 6%, while the Group achieved a further 6% increase in sales thanks to acquisitions made abroad. The strength of the Swiss franc had a considerable impact on the Group’s continuing growth. With sales at CHF 241.1 million, the growth of 8.4% lay within the range of 6% to 10% targeted over the long term. Thanks to the ongoing expansion of its product range, the Thurgau-based specialist for surface technologies acquired a variety of new customers and thus boosted its market share in the fiercely contested market. It was first and foremost the Group’s various system programmes coupled with a number of innovative new products that helped sharpen the corporate profile. The complementary abrasive products manufactured by sia Fibral Ltd., which the Group took over in 2001, in particular had a positive influence on business. The strategy of selling converted non-woven products instead of semi-finished materials in the form of rolls is clearly paying off. Non-wovens represent an ideal addition to the sia range of coated abrasives and are contributing to further penetration of the market. With the acquisition in Germany, sia Abrasives has opened up further customer segments – primarily in the metalworking sector.
Gratifying inflow of orders for current year
The volume of orders already received by sia Abrasives Industries AG this year is extremely gratifying and means that order books are now well filled. The number of orders on hand is at a record high and comes to more than double the year-back level. Although the high inflow of orders is due on the one hand to the expansion of our customer base, it also reflects the unsatisfactory delivery situation that prevailed last year. This is coupled with the effect of low inventory levels throughout the entire distribution chain which are now increasingly being built up again.
® Correct nomenclature for sia Abrasives Holding AG
As there are other companies and organizations that use the same abbreviation as our company, we would be grateful if you could help to avoid any misunderstandings by always writing our name as follows: sia Abrasives (never just sia by itself).
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