In advance of official approval for the six month interim results (Board of Directors’ meeting convened for 6 August), Biesse spa, the Pesaro based multinational company which operates in the market for wood, glass and stone processing machinery and systems, today presented Liviana Forza as its new Commercial & Marketing Director of the Wood Division.
Liviana Forza comes to Biesse with substantial international experience gained in working in management positions for several multinational companies. Since 2008 she has held the position of Strategic Marketing Director of the Commercial Vehicle Division of the Piaggio Group.
Liviana Forza will have a dual role in the Biesse Group since, in addition to her responsibilities as Commercial & Marketing Director, she will also hold the position of Director of Product & Systems Management.
“My main objective is to increase market share and to introduce new initiatives to support business development. Biesse benefits from strong technological leadership which allows us to aspire to a leading competitive position in the international market. We are launching and developing new extremely productive, high performance products to satisfy all of our clients throughout their production chain”, stated Liviana Forza.
It was also an opportune moment to analyse the positive trend in order intake to 30 June 2010 which, compared with the same period of 2009, reveals a total increase of 61 percent (Wood Division +71 percent). Order intake in the first half has exceeded expectations, both in Italy and abroad, for our main operating markets. For the 3rd quarter 2010 we expect a significant seasonal change in productivity, but we expect that the full results for the 2nd half wil still be positive and will show a recovery compared with the results for 2008 (trend at 30 June -32 percent).
The geographical breakdown of the order backlog reveals that the areas showing the most significant growth are South America, East Europe and the countries of the Mediterranean basin. Biesse also continues to generate satisfactory results in the European and American markets which show encouraging signs of recovery.
“Given an economic climate of continuing uncertainty in many geographical areas”, stated Biesse’s Ceo Giovanni Barra “ we have succeeded in taking advantage of the positive, though volatile, demand for capital goods that exists in our core markets thanks to the increasing validity of our product range, our extensive international presence and the strength of our distribution network. In the month of June 2010 alone the Wood Division, for the first time in a considerable period, generated an order intake higher than for the same period of 2008 (+34.5%). This result, while it should not be taken to indicate a trend, is a demonstration of our improved commercial performance”.
Biesse: positive results expected for period to 30 June 2010
As outlined in the Group’s three year industrial plan, the key focal points of the 2010-2012 period are production costs, reinforcement of commercial distribution, investment in product innovation and the broadening of the product base, and efforts to improve technical services to clients. In just two years (2010-2011) the company intends to launch 22 new products, of which 16 in wood technology, for both small/medium businesses and large companies, as well as 6 new technologies for the glass and stone sectors, HSD (Mechatronics) and significant new software solutions.
During the presentation, Stefano Bartolini, Group Industrial Director, also outlined the Group’s cost reduction strategy:
“At the end of 2009, Biesse embarked upon an ambitious Cost Reduction Programme, aimed at achieving a significant reduction in product costs and at the same time optimising the standardisation of assembly and component solutions.This programme was implemented in order to enhance our competitiveness in markets without – obviously – resulting in margin erosion or passing on to the market the higher costs arising from the significant increase in raw material costs. Our objective is to reduce the cost of sales by 10% over the two year period 2010-2011, by taking action to reduce both labour costs and raw material costs, by more than the rate of inflation”.
“Expectations for the results for the 1st half 2010,” concluded Giovanni Barra “are to return the Group to positive
margins, happened particularly in the second quarter, through growth in consolidated revenues and a concrete
reduction in our fixed and variable costs. Even these first 6 months show that we are generating a regular and constant cash flow from normal operating activity, as was already evident in the 4th quarter 2009. We therefore expect to continue to generate positive cash flow for the full year 2010”.
In addition to the aforementioned Board of Directors’ meeting on 6 August, forthcoming communications will focus on Biesse’s participation in the Shanghai trade fair and the organisation of the Biesse Inside event.
Biesse will exhibit its Wood Division technology at the Fmc Premium trade fair in Shanghai from 7 to 10 September 2010, where it will be present with its Chinese subsidiary. This trade fair represents an opportunity to present product and service technological innovations to the Chinese market and to reinforce client relationships in the region. Biesse’s policy to strengthen its presence in the Chinese market is one of the top priorities of the Group’s global commercial strategy.
The company is also preparing the sixth BiesseInside open-house event for clients and partners, which will take place at its headquarters in Pesaro from 7 to 9 October. Once again this year clients will be able to enjoy a live working display of the Group’s machines at the 3,000 sqm Tech Center, see a preview of new product launches and take part in seminars and tutorials. “We believe in the importance of these events in keeping us in touch with our clients and partners, an opportunity to show our innovative technologies and to reaffirm the stability and reliability of the Group” stated Liviana Forza “BiesseInside represents an important and strategic occasion for the company, conceived and organised around our clients, and which attracts an average of more than 1,500 clients from over 50 countries. Given the success of this formula, BiesseInside has today grown to become an unmissable event for the Wood Division which involves Biesse’s subsidiaries and clients throughout the world”.
Biesse: positive results expected
for period to 30 June 2010
ultima modifica: 2010-07-23T00:00:00+00:00
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