01.01.07
(formerly Colbond)
Location: Arnhem, The Netherlands
Sales: $195 million
Description: Key Personnel
Jan van Boldrik, CEO; Axel Poscher, vice president; Bart Austin, president Colbond Inc.; Randy Cook, director sales and marketing flooring; Harry Verbakel, director sales and marketing automotive; Rob Noppen, director sales and marketing construction industry; Blair Rawes, director sales and marketing civil engineering; Joe Luna, director sales and marketing building and industrial applications
Plants
Emmen and Arnhem, The Netherlands; Obernburg, Germany; Asheville, NC
ISO Status
All plants ISO 9001:2000 certified
Processes
Chemical bonded, thermal bonded and specialties
Brand Names
Colback, Colfors, Enkamat, Enkadrain, Colbonddrain, Enkagrid, Enka-Spacer, Enka-Vent
Major Markets
Flooring, automotive, construction industry, civil engineering, building and various industrial applications
Acquired by London, U.K.-based specialty materials group Low & Bonar (L&B) last year, Colbond drove sales of nonwoven roll goods above market growth in 2006. While the company achieved a double-digit growth rate in North America, sales increases in Europe and the rest of the world exceeded market growth levels. The company also improved its product mix and is satisfied with last year’s positive results, which it attributes to the added value provided to its customers.
Commenting on its new status as part of L&B, Colbond CEO Jan van Boldrik indicated that the company plays a key role in L&B’s mid- and long-term strategy. “Being owned by an industrial company widens the basis for long-term investment and secures the resources needed for sustainable growth,” he said. “Approval of a substantial investment into the expansion of our production capacity for monofilament mats in North America is an example underlining the commitment of L&B in Colbond.” Mr. van Boldrik went on to describe the first full year after the acquisition as successful, proving, he said, that a joint approach is beneficial for all members of the group. “On the sales side, much focus is on advantages arising from the possibility of offering a comprehensive product package for a wide range of different applications.”
As is the case for roll goods producers across the board, raw material costs continue to be hard to predict and represent a certain risk factor for Colbond. Heightened polymer prices forced the company to increase sales prices by year-end 2006 to partially offset this effect. Colbond also realized further efficiency improvements to compensate for increasing raw material costs.
“Raw material costs didn’t decrease to the extent foreseen for the first quarter of 2007 and even increased during the second quarter,” he stated. “We are therefore careful in expecting a more favorable situation within the next 18 months.”
On the positive side, 2006 has been a successful year for Colbond’s flooring activities in the U.S.; in particular Colback has done well in the carpet tile sector. Main growth drivers include the positive development of the U.S. economy with continued double-digit growth in the commercial carpet tile segments as well as in artificial turf. “Colbond products perfectly comply with the demand for high performance backings in these market segments,” observed Mr. van Boldrik.
In the automotive sector, a price-competitive environment for nonwovens in the U.S. and Europe placed OEMs under pressure. Similar price issues have taken their toll in the market for waterproof bituminous membranes, where Colbond’s nonwoven products serve as a reinforcement. Outside of nonwovens, Colbond is pleased with substantial growth in building and industrial applications and is satisfied with the increase in turnover in civil engineering.
Although growth in the markets for high-quality durable nonwovens has been positive but somewhat limited in past years, the company foresees this trend changing in the medium-term. “Thanks to the unique bicomponent composition of Colback nonwovens and the flexibility of our processes, we are able to serve market segments with high demands on backing materials and reinforcements,” he said. “We differentiate ourselves from other nonwoven manufacturers by means of high-grade specialty products meeting these demands.” Additionally, the company can tailor features such as basis weight, strength, elongation and color and offers products in custom widths. “We offer varying degrees of post-consumer recycled content nonwovens and are working on other functionalities delivered through our bicomponent technologies.”
By way of capital improvements, Colbond has stayed on track with plans to initiate several projects in 2006 and into 2007 at its nonwovens operations at Arnhem and Emmen, The Netherlands and Asheville, NC. These plans targeted further optimization of Colback quality and the de-bottlenecking of existing production capacities. In preparation for the commercial launch of Colback SMR in January 2007, major investments were made during 2006 to fine-tune the technology and modify machines to handle recycled raw material generated from post-consumer bottle scrap. Also, to comply with increasing demand for geogrids in infrastructure projects that call for soil stabilization, Colbond has increased its production capacity for Enkagrid, which is manufactured at Arnhem. This increase is based on the further optimization of its manufacturing process.
From a geographical standpoint, current key regions are Western Europe and North America, with Eastern Europe gaining importance for Colbond. In Asia the company is increasing its activities, partly with the support of its new sister company Bonar Yihua as a local key contact and company base. A Chinese manufacturer of wovens and artificial grass yarn, Bonar Yihua has taken Colback on board, a step that is expected to substantially increase the share of Colbond in the Asian market for high performance nonwoven backings
Colbond is keeping busy on the Eastern European front as well, where it is benefiting from L&B company locations that form strategically important bases for entering new markets and growing in certain regions.
Looking toward the horizon, Colbond’s short- and long-term growth strategy is clear, according to Mr. van Boldrik. “Within L&B, Colbond continues its strategy of targeted organic growth focusing on new products and innovative applications as well as on geographic expansion supported by L&B acquisitions where appropriate.”
Location: Arnhem, The Netherlands
Sales: $195 million
Description: Key Personnel
Jan van Boldrik, CEO; Axel Poscher, vice president; Bart Austin, president Colbond Inc.; Randy Cook, director sales and marketing flooring; Harry Verbakel, director sales and marketing automotive; Rob Noppen, director sales and marketing construction industry; Blair Rawes, director sales and marketing civil engineering; Joe Luna, director sales and marketing building and industrial applications
Plants
Emmen and Arnhem, The Netherlands; Obernburg, Germany; Asheville, NC
ISO Status
All plants ISO 9001:2000 certified
Processes
Chemical bonded, thermal bonded and specialties
Brand Names
Colback, Colfors, Enkamat, Enkadrain, Colbonddrain, Enkagrid, Enka-Spacer, Enka-Vent
Major Markets
Flooring, automotive, construction industry, civil engineering, building and various industrial applications
Acquired by London, U.K.-based specialty materials group Low & Bonar (L&B) last year, Colbond drove sales of nonwoven roll goods above market growth in 2006. While the company achieved a double-digit growth rate in North America, sales increases in Europe and the rest of the world exceeded market growth levels. The company also improved its product mix and is satisfied with last year’s positive results, which it attributes to the added value provided to its customers.
Commenting on its new status as part of L&B, Colbond CEO Jan van Boldrik indicated that the company plays a key role in L&B’s mid- and long-term strategy. “Being owned by an industrial company widens the basis for long-term investment and secures the resources needed for sustainable growth,” he said. “Approval of a substantial investment into the expansion of our production capacity for monofilament mats in North America is an example underlining the commitment of L&B in Colbond.” Mr. van Boldrik went on to describe the first full year after the acquisition as successful, proving, he said, that a joint approach is beneficial for all members of the group. “On the sales side, much focus is on advantages arising from the possibility of offering a comprehensive product package for a wide range of different applications.”
As is the case for roll goods producers across the board, raw material costs continue to be hard to predict and represent a certain risk factor for Colbond. Heightened polymer prices forced the company to increase sales prices by year-end 2006 to partially offset this effect. Colbond also realized further efficiency improvements to compensate for increasing raw material costs.
“Raw material costs didn’t decrease to the extent foreseen for the first quarter of 2007 and even increased during the second quarter,” he stated. “We are therefore careful in expecting a more favorable situation within the next 18 months.”
On the positive side, 2006 has been a successful year for Colbond’s flooring activities in the U.S.; in particular Colback has done well in the carpet tile sector. Main growth drivers include the positive development of the U.S. economy with continued double-digit growth in the commercial carpet tile segments as well as in artificial turf. “Colbond products perfectly comply with the demand for high performance backings in these market segments,” observed Mr. van Boldrik.
In the automotive sector, a price-competitive environment for nonwovens in the U.S. and Europe placed OEMs under pressure. Similar price issues have taken their toll in the market for waterproof bituminous membranes, where Colbond’s nonwoven products serve as a reinforcement. Outside of nonwovens, Colbond is pleased with substantial growth in building and industrial applications and is satisfied with the increase in turnover in civil engineering.
Although growth in the markets for high-quality durable nonwovens has been positive but somewhat limited in past years, the company foresees this trend changing in the medium-term. “Thanks to the unique bicomponent composition of Colback nonwovens and the flexibility of our processes, we are able to serve market segments with high demands on backing materials and reinforcements,” he said. “We differentiate ourselves from other nonwoven manufacturers by means of high-grade specialty products meeting these demands.” Additionally, the company can tailor features such as basis weight, strength, elongation and color and offers products in custom widths. “We offer varying degrees of post-consumer recycled content nonwovens and are working on other functionalities delivered through our bicomponent technologies.”
By way of capital improvements, Colbond has stayed on track with plans to initiate several projects in 2006 and into 2007 at its nonwovens operations at Arnhem and Emmen, The Netherlands and Asheville, NC. These plans targeted further optimization of Colback quality and the de-bottlenecking of existing production capacities. In preparation for the commercial launch of Colback SMR in January 2007, major investments were made during 2006 to fine-tune the technology and modify machines to handle recycled raw material generated from post-consumer bottle scrap. Also, to comply with increasing demand for geogrids in infrastructure projects that call for soil stabilization, Colbond has increased its production capacity for Enkagrid, which is manufactured at Arnhem. This increase is based on the further optimization of its manufacturing process.
From a geographical standpoint, current key regions are Western Europe and North America, with Eastern Europe gaining importance for Colbond. In Asia the company is increasing its activities, partly with the support of its new sister company Bonar Yihua as a local key contact and company base. A Chinese manufacturer of wovens and artificial grass yarn, Bonar Yihua has taken Colback on board, a step that is expected to substantially increase the share of Colbond in the Asian market for high performance nonwoven backings
Colbond is keeping busy on the Eastern European front as well, where it is benefiting from L&B company locations that form strategically important bases for entering new markets and growing in certain regions.
Looking toward the horizon, Colbond’s short- and long-term growth strategy is clear, according to Mr. van Boldrik. “Within L&B, Colbond continues its strategy of targeted organic growth focusing on new products and innovative applications as well as on geographic expansion supported by L&B acquisitions where appropriate.”