01.01.09
Location: GATINEAU, QUEBEC, CANADA
Sales: $230 Million
Description: Key Personnel
Corporate: Pierre McNeil, president and chief executive officer; Rolf Hovelmann, executive senior vice president and COO; Don Habbick, chief financial officer; Barry Downing, vice president
European operations: Rolf Hovelmann, managing director; Jorg Schlautmann, managing director, sales, R&D and quality; Torsten Gartner, managing director, manufacturing & business
systems
Canadian operations: Barry Downing, vice president and general manager; Ken Squires, vice president, director of sales; Alain Mercier, vice president, director of operations
Processes/Canada
Airlaid capabilities for thermal, latex, multi and bonded; festooner capacity for finishing and packaging
Markets/Canada
Feminine hygiene, home care, food pads and premium
Processes/Germany
Airlaid capabilities for thermal, latex, multi and bonded. Festooner capacity for finishing and packaging
Products/Germany
Feminine hygiene, premium wipes, food pads, tabletop, adult incontinence and cosmetic towels
As it waits for its new European line to come onstream, Concert Industries, Gatineau, Quebec, continues to focus on serving markets that see the value of highly engineered products including feminine hygiene, adult incontinence and some specialized wipes areas. “As the innovation leader, Concert is constantly developing new materials for its existing end use segments as well as for new applications and markets,” said company CEO Pierre McNeill.
“Concert invests significant resources in research and development and continuously seeks to enter new segments that would benefit from a sophisticated airlaid material.”
With 2008 sales hitting the $230 million mark, Concert expects levels to reach $270 million this year as it continues to gain marketshare within the specialty personal hygiene markets and continues to expand as its customers move into new regions.
Based in Canada, Concert operates two lines in Gatineau as well as a European facility in Falkenhagen, Germany. While the company has room for growth in North America, it is currently awaiting the completion of a new line in Falkenhagen to ease undercapacity concerns in Europe and other regions. Representing a €60 million investment, the European expansion will be the site’s third airlaid line and will increase its annual production capacity by 30%. The new line will serve the European market as well as emerging markets in the Middle East, Africa and Asia.
“Concert is keen on growing in emerging regions as the growing middle classes in these regions increasingly demand modern personal hygiene products,” Mr. McNeill said. “Concert’s customers are aggressively growing in the emerging regions and Concert is well positioned to support them in their growth initiatives.”
Meanwhile, more developed regions—namely North America and Western Europe—continue to recover for the global economic crisis. While volumes in the personal hygiene market remained largely stable—as expected—customers did manage their working capital levels to generate liquidity. This impacted Concert’s sales to some extent in late 2008 and early 2009 but more recently orders have begun to grow again. Europe, meanwhile, entered the recession behind North America and has likewise been slower to come out of it . “However, both markets have seen stable demand in personal hygiene products and as a result, Concert has been able to weather the recession without significant negative impacts to its business,” Mr. McNeill said.
Keeping its business strong is nothing new for Concert. During the past several years, the company—which is owned by Tricap Partners, a restructuring fund under the management of Brookfield Asset Management—has worked hard to stay healthy. This has included the closing of some North American lines, exiting unprofitable businesses, such as the consumer wipes market, and focusing on serving markets that see the value in highly-engineered airlaid products.
Sales: $230 Million
Description: Key Personnel
Corporate: Pierre McNeil, president and chief executive officer; Rolf Hovelmann, executive senior vice president and COO; Don Habbick, chief financial officer; Barry Downing, vice president
European operations: Rolf Hovelmann, managing director; Jorg Schlautmann, managing director, sales, R&D and quality; Torsten Gartner, managing director, manufacturing & business
systems
Canadian operations: Barry Downing, vice president and general manager; Ken Squires, vice president, director of sales; Alain Mercier, vice president, director of operations
Processes/Canada
Airlaid capabilities for thermal, latex, multi and bonded; festooner capacity for finishing and packaging
Markets/Canada
Feminine hygiene, home care, food pads and premium
Processes/Germany
Airlaid capabilities for thermal, latex, multi and bonded. Festooner capacity for finishing and packaging
Products/Germany
Feminine hygiene, premium wipes, food pads, tabletop, adult incontinence and cosmetic towels
As it waits for its new European line to come onstream, Concert Industries, Gatineau, Quebec, continues to focus on serving markets that see the value of highly engineered products including feminine hygiene, adult incontinence and some specialized wipes areas. “As the innovation leader, Concert is constantly developing new materials for its existing end use segments as well as for new applications and markets,” said company CEO Pierre McNeill.
“Concert invests significant resources in research and development and continuously seeks to enter new segments that would benefit from a sophisticated airlaid material.”
With 2008 sales hitting the $230 million mark, Concert expects levels to reach $270 million this year as it continues to gain marketshare within the specialty personal hygiene markets and continues to expand as its customers move into new regions.
Based in Canada, Concert operates two lines in Gatineau as well as a European facility in Falkenhagen, Germany. While the company has room for growth in North America, it is currently awaiting the completion of a new line in Falkenhagen to ease undercapacity concerns in Europe and other regions. Representing a €60 million investment, the European expansion will be the site’s third airlaid line and will increase its annual production capacity by 30%. The new line will serve the European market as well as emerging markets in the Middle East, Africa and Asia.
“Concert is keen on growing in emerging regions as the growing middle classes in these regions increasingly demand modern personal hygiene products,” Mr. McNeill said. “Concert’s customers are aggressively growing in the emerging regions and Concert is well positioned to support them in their growth initiatives.”
Meanwhile, more developed regions—namely North America and Western Europe—continue to recover for the global economic crisis. While volumes in the personal hygiene market remained largely stable—as expected—customers did manage their working capital levels to generate liquidity. This impacted Concert’s sales to some extent in late 2008 and early 2009 but more recently orders have begun to grow again. Europe, meanwhile, entered the recession behind North America and has likewise been slower to come out of it . “However, both markets have seen stable demand in personal hygiene products and as a result, Concert has been able to weather the recession without significant negative impacts to its business,” Mr. McNeill said.
Keeping its business strong is nothing new for Concert. During the past several years, the company—which is owned by Tricap Partners, a restructuring fund under the management of Brookfield Asset Management—has worked hard to stay healthy. This has included the closing of some North American lines, exiting unprofitable businesses, such as the consumer wipes market, and focusing on serving markets that see the value in highly-engineered airlaid products.