GDP growth for 2011 was in the range of 2 to 5 % in Central and Eastern European countries. Bekaert’s presence in the mature Western European markets on the one hand, and the growth markets of Eastern and Central Europe on the other, resulted in an overall good performance in the EMEA region in 2011.
Bekaert’s Slovak plants performed well in 2011. Bekaert continued to expand its extensive customer base in the region and further invested in its manufacturing platforms in Sládkovičovo and Hlohovec. During a Supplier Conference organized by Parker, a worldwide customer for hose and mooring wire and the global leader in motion and control technologies, our team from Hlohovec was explicitly mentioned for their efforts to improve the process-ability of the wire by pro-actively working together with Parker in Germany. Parker therefore rewarded Bekaert with the ‘Continuous Improvement Award’. On top of this, Bekaert received the ‘Innovation Performance Award’ for the introduction of flat hose wire. This new technology allowed Parker to increase the performance of the final product by 20%.
The inauguration of the plant extension in Sládkovičovo took place in the presence of Mrs Iveta Radičová, the then Prime Minister of Slovakia. The new half products manufacturing unit was built in response to the growing demand for tire cord in the region and in view of the expected efficiency and flexibility gains.
The wire manufacturing platform in Hlohovec continued to invest in modern equipment serving promising markets, but also faced demand hesitation for a number of products toward the end of the year.
The strategic importance of the Slovak operations was reflected in a number of high level events during 2011: in early March, Bekaert hosted an international group of financial analysts at its facilities in Slovakia. In September, the Board of Directors of Bekaert visited the sites in Slovakia and Russia.
The Board Members shared their positive feedback on the progress our Slovakian plants are making, both in terms of operational excellence and the high involvement of all employees.
The wire plants in Bohumín and Petrovice (Czech Republic) experienced price pressure in an increasingly competitive environment. Volumes of more basic products were added in the second half of the year to compensate for lower demand and to drive up capacity utilization.
Bekaert continued to expand in Russia. The tire cord facility in Lipetsk was extended with a half products department, and cooperation programs with Russian wire rod suppliers have been initiated to develop high quality wire rod serving Bekaert’s Russian operations.
On 15 September, Bekaert celebrated the opening of its plant extension in Lipetsk, Russia. The inauguration event took place in the presence of Mr Bozhko, the First Vice Governor of the Lipetsk region, Baron Buysse, Bert De Graeve, and the members of the Board of Directors of Bekaert. The new investment encompassed the construction of a new building covering 13 000 m
2, the installation of infrastructure and state-of-the-art machinery, and the hiring and training of extra personnel.