About us

Strategy

Bekaert strives for sustainable profitable growth and is built on two core competences: advanced metal transformation and advanced materials and coatings.

It is this combination of competences which makes Bekaert unique. Bekaert’s strategy for sustainable profitable growth is based on the extension of its global market and technological leadership in these two core competences.

Bekaert is working to further reinforce its position as global market leader and hence extending its international activities. In the mature markets, Bekaert is consolidating the strong position that it has held for many years. The company also aims to strengthen its presence in various growth markets.

Bekaert offers its customers products and services with high added value. Bekaert is entering into partnerships with individual customers, so that it can work with them to develop products which meet their highly specific needs and offer them significant advantages. This cooperation frequently results in new products and applications.

Bekaert has greatly enhanced its market expertise in several sectors and is working actively to open up new markets. Bekaert aims to offer its customers unique and preferred solutions based on its core competences, by taking advantage of synergy between and combinations of the different technologies in the various sectors.

Bekaert utilises its existing distribution channels more effectively in presenting its product range to a wider clientele.

Bekaert pursues growth by constantly reinforcing its technological leadership, maintaining its technological lead through a process of continuous innovation. The Bekaert Technology Centre in Deerlijk (Belgium), which is increasingly made up of international experts, has a key role to play in this strategy. The centre cooperates closely across all disciplines with the other group entities and Bekaert Engineering. This cross-functional cooperation between research, engineering and marketing staff has been institutionalised in the form of ‘virtual companies’ throughout the organisation. On the basis of the Marketing Road Map, these teams oversee the entire process, from the initiation of the idea, through its development and implementation, to the final market launch. Cooperation with lead customers and potential end-users is resulting in new developments which answer the customer’s needs more effectively and can be introduced on the market more quickly.

Bekaert aims for operational excellence in all its activities. Its long experience has given Bekaert extensive operational expertise in both quality and cost-efficiency, enabling it to supply its customers around the world with top products which satisfy rigorous quality standards.

Close cooperation between Bekaert Engineering, Bekaert Technology Centre and the various production units enables Bekaert to operate its production equipment around the world with ever-improving efficiency. Bekaert continues to work on developing its concept of ‘key learning plants’. Bekaert Engineering also supports the development of new products and plays a central role in expediting Bekaert’s expansion in the various growth markets.

Bekaert combines organic growth with alliances, joint ventures and acquisitions. Appropriate transactions of this kind also give Bekaert access to complementary technological and commercial competences, which in turn can lead to new activities. Bekaert wishes to enhance its position in the value chain.

It is Bekaert’s clear policy to focus on selected applications of its core competences, envisaging global market and technological leadership.

Sustainable growth depends on rigorous profitability criteria, and Bekaert sets strict targets for all segments. Bekaert strives to reach an overall return on investment which exceeds the weighted cost of the capital employed. Certain product lines which did not have the potential to meet these profitability requirements have already been discontinued and, for the same reason, others have been transferred to regions where they can be produced at a lower overall operating cost. Periodically, the various product lines are evaluated and, where necessary, optimised. Bekaert continues to give priority to the close monitoring of working capital and careful evaluation of new investments.

Locating Bekaert’s production platforms close to the specific markets around the world provides an effective natural hedge against operational currency movements. Optimum matching of procurement, production and sales receives constant attention. In addition, net trading transactions in foreign currencies are maximally hedged and debt positions are mainly expressed in US dollars.

Raising profitability to a higher level, Bekaert’s primary goal, ultimately results in sustainable value creation for shareholders.

Consistent with its strategy of sustainable profitable growth, Bekaert has introduced a new segment reporting structure for 2003 which is fully IFRS-compliant. Bekaert seeks to meet the need for relevant financial information by providing appropriate insight into its activities, risks and returns. Based on its two core competences – advanced metal transformation and advanced materials and coatings – Bekaert’s primary reporting is now in terms of three segments: advanced wire products, advanced materials and advanced coatings. This follows from a thorough analysis of the risk profiles of Bekaert’s activities around the world. The primary segmentation is supplemented with geographical information in line with the requirements of a secondary segmentation. Although the financial segment reporting relates only to the consolidated activities, additional information is provided on the activities of the joint ventures and associated companies in the various segments.