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ABOUT US
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Bekaert is an international player with its headquarters in Belgium. Our business is built on two core competences: advanced metal transformation and advanced materials and coatings. This unique combination of competences is Bekaert’s strength. Our basic raw material is wire rod, steel wire about the thickness of a finger, which we convert by mechanical deformation and heat treatment into wires that can be as fine as 1/50th the thickness of a human hair. These wires are then turned into cable and cord, woven or knitted into cloth or processed into ultra-fine filters and fibers, for a wide range of industrial applications in virtually all sectors of the economy. We also develop coating technologies for our steel wires and fibers, adding even more value for the customer. As a business-to-business supplier, we take account both of our industrial customers’ technological requirements and of their end-users’ wishes. Bekaert invests heavily in growth regions, such as China, India, Russia and Latin America, while working to strengthen its position in its traditional markets of Western Europe and North America. Bekaert aspires to both market and technological leadership. These are the forces driving our pursuit of Bekaert’s strategic objective: sustainable and profitable growth. __________________________________________
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Sectors
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Our products: used in many sectors Bekaert is active in many sectors with its advanced wire products and advanced materials and coatings. The automotive, construction, offshore, telecom and textile sectors are its most important markets. The diversity of markets and sectors that Bekaert addresses also benefits our customers, because solutions we develop for customers in one sector often form the basis of innovations in others. Because we supply intermediate products to our industrial customers, our products affect the finished products they supply to their end-consumers. That is why Bekaert keeps its finger on the consumers’ pulse: an appreciation of their views and wishes is vital to our company.
Bekaert also has a strong presence in the construction sector, with products such as Dramix® steel fibers for concrete reinforcement, strands and wires for prestressed concrete elements, plastering mesh and corner beads. We also develop cables and cable wires for applications in elevators and other machinery. Other important products include window films which, as well as keeping out the sun’s heat and filtering out harmful UV rays, hold the glass together in the event of breakage. Window film is applied to some 40 000 square meters of glass every day.
In the glass industry, Bekaert has built a strong reputation in the field of sputter hardware and rotatable sputter targets. This technology has become the standard process worldwide for applying ultra-thin coatings to impart special properties to glass. For the customer, the technology yields substantial cost savings. Heating systems Bekaert is the leading supplier of environment-friendly gas burners to manufacturers of domestic heating systems. The burner surface is made of a textile woven from metal fibers, with a structure that ensures optimum mixing of gas and air. As well as achieving very high efficiency, these burners are also extremely environment-friendly.
Bekaert supplies carding products to customers in the textile industry. Carding is a preparatory step in the production of both woven and non-woven textiles. We also produce high-quality steel wire for heddles and springs in Jacquard looms, which raise the warp threads to allow the gripper carrying the weft to pass smoothly across. We also supply the textile industry with metal fibers with antistatic properties, which improve safety, and nylon coated bra wire for lingerie producers. Chemical sector The chemical sector benefits from our expertise in filter media. We knit metal fibers, around a fiftieth of the thickness of a human hair, into filter media for gases, polymers and liquids. Because they are reusable, these filter media have a far longer service life. Working with customers, we also develop complete filtration solutions. Agricultural and horticultural sector The agricultural and horticultural sector has always been a major user of Bekaert’s fencing products. The wine industry buys our vineyard wire on which to train their vines and our metal fiber burners to burn off excess foliage and thus improve yields. And the consumer? No champagne cork pops until the muselet – made of Bekaert wire – is removed.
The printing industry uses 6 000 kilometers of Bekaert bookbinding wire a year, in all kinds of colors, to give their books a quality feel. __________________________________________
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Segments
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Bekaert reports its activities and results in accordance with the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). Consistent with Bekaert’s strategic vision, primary segmentation is based on three business segments: advanced wire products, advanced materials and advanced coatings. Secondary segmentation of sales is by geographical region. Bekaert produces a highly diverse range of advanced wire products which find application in many sectors. Steel wires of various grades and in various forms are used in a variety of applications meeting many different product specifications. The product range runs from very high-tensile wires to ultra-thin metal fibers of 1 micron. The development of wires with higher tensile strength allows thinner wires to be used without compromising flexibility. High-tensile wires are bunched into steel cord. Advanced wire products
Advanced materials
Advanced coatings |
