2010 Dieffenbacher's most successful year ever
2010 has been the most successful year ever for Dieffenbacher.
From January 2010 to January 2011, Dieffenbacher and its subsidiary Dieffenbacher SWPM received a total of 26 orders for continu¬ous panel systems. Orders from China made a significant contribution to this success; China alone accounted for 17 lines, nine of which are CPS lines and eight ContiPlus. Sales increased to €330 m in 2010. SWPM accounted for €43 m of this. The order books are currently full to the tune of more than €750 m, thereby ensuring capacity utilization in all of the Group's plants until the first quarter of 2012.
Dieffenbacher scored a major success in Turkey. Dieffenbacher supplied an 8’ x 55.5 m press to Kastamonu, representing the biggest MDF line ever in Turkey. It has been designed for an annual capacity of 375,000 m³. OAO Mostovdrev also decided to choose Dieffenbacher. The first Dieffenbacher MDF line (7’ x 32 m) in Belarus will be producing 200,000 m³ per year. Another highlight is the project for LINEX Panneaux in France. Dieffenbacher is currently taking an 8’ x 55.5 m particleboard line into operation there. This line has an output of 760,000 m³ per year, and includes annual plants (flax) in the raw material mix for manufacturing panels. Dieffenbacher made a particular impression in Asia in the areas of particleboard and OSB. Dieffenbacher signed a contract with Sumitomo Forestry Company for the first continuous particleboard line (8’ x 24.5 m) in Vietnam, with an annual capacity of 260,000 m³. The first OSB line in China was also taken into operation at Baoyuan this year. The average produc¬tion capacity will be 220,000 m³ per year.
Success in China since 1995
The success story started in 1995 when Dieffenbacher received its first two orders from PTP Ltd. in Leshan (Sechuan Province) and Shishou (Hubei Province). What were at the time the two largest CPS lines for MDF in China. They started operation in 1996 and 1998 respectively. In 2003, Guangxi Gaofeng ordered the next continuous MDF line with a CPS press, designed for a daily capacity of 500 m³. This project was followed by a wave of follow-on orders. Since 2002, Dieffenbacher has received orders for a total of 39 continuous lines in China.
The successes achieved latterly would not have been possible without a firm base in China with the company's own personnel who know the culture and the language. As a result, Dieffenbacher founded the Dieffenbacher Beijing Office in 1999 as a sales representation office and, in 2002, Dieffenbacher Machinery Service Beijing as a service center for startup support, service within China as well as customer-oriented spare parts provision. The first production site was established in 2006 in Changzhou. All three companies are run by Liu Shouhua, the Managing Director. Liu Shouhua joined Dieffenbacher in 1998 when the company took over the wood panel operations of Carl Schenck AG. The team is now 14 strong and has established an excellent reputation for itself amongst Chinese customers.
Dieffenbacher SWPM
In 2009, Dieffenbacher announced its takeover of 70 percent of Shanghai Wood Based Panel Machinery (SWPM). By taking this majority stake, Dieffenbacher wanted to expand its position in the Chinese market further. With experience gained from almost 300 multi-daylight presses, Dieffenbacher SWPM has a market share of about 75 percent in this segment in China, and enjoys a first-class reputation. In addition, it was the only Chinese company able to deliver complete lines. The flagship of the Shanghai company is now the new 4-foot ContiPlus press which entered production for the first time at Kronospan in 2009. 16 ContiPlus machines have already been sold, and are exclusively manufactured in China according to the most exacting quality guidelines. The integration of SWPM into the Dieffenbacher Group is proceeding successfully. There are already major areas of synergy in purchasing, project management, engineering and production. Furthermore, SWPM is part of Dieffenbacher's worldwide sales network.
Contact for further information:
Roger Kautz
Marketing and Communication
Tel. +49 72 62 65-224
Fax +49 72 62 65 420
roger.kautz(at)dieffenbacher.de
Dieffenbacher Industriemarketing GmbH
Heilbronner Strasse 20
75031 Eppingen, Germany
www.dieffenbacher.de