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[October 2007]
Wienerberger Expands and Optimises Hollow Brick Production in Belgium
Wienerberger AG (Vienna, Austria) is continuing its expansion strategy in Belgium with further investments in its hollow brick production. Plans call for the enlargement of the sites at Zonnebeke close to the French border and at Egem near Ghent as well as the renewal of the outdated Rumst site, located in the historical brick production region between Antwerp and Brussels. The total investments are estimated at roughly €54 million and form part of Wienerberger's 2007 bolt-on programme.
Heimo Scheuch, member of the Managing Board of Wienerberger AG with responsibility for North-West Europe, explained the rationale for this investment: "Belgium is one of our largest single markets in terms of Group revenues. The expansion of our activities in Belgium through the increase of our production capacities for hollow bricks in these three plants to 410 million NF (=standard size for bricks) will lead to higher efficiency due to economies of scale and further strengthen our position in this market.
“The renewal of our plant in Rumst will provide us with the possibility to optimize production costs, enlarge our portfolio and introduce new products to the market. This will allow us to meet the increasing demand of our customers for easier and faster construction systems."
In addition to the increase in capacities, a strong focus is put on the implementation of environmental technologies in line with the 2010+ emission goals set by the European Community. All three Belgian plants will be provided with state-of-the-art scrubber technologies to reduce emissions during the production process. Furthermore, the plant in Rumst will introduce raw material from recycled bricks into the production cycle on a large scale to reduce the usage of primary raw materials and energy.
The investments will lead to a restructuring of the existing business activities which will impact 70 employees. In this context Wienerberger will initiate talks with the social partners in the upcoming weeks.
With a turnover of approximately €300 million, Belgium represents the third largest single market for Wienerberger AG and generated 10% of group revenues in 2006. Wienerberger Belgium is known for its brands Koramic (clay roof tiles), Terca and Desimpel (facing bricks) and employs 1,300 people.
ENDS