About Bekaert
Bekaert’s business is built on two core competences: advanced metal transformation and advanced materials and coatings. The combination of these competences makes Bekaert unique.
Customers in more than 120 countries and in the most diverse sectors choose to work with Bekaert for the wide range of high-tech products, systems and services it provides. Bekaert’s workforce of over 18 500 is committed to meeting their needs, day in and day out.
The main raw material for most of Bekaert’s products is wire rod. This is steel wire of about the thickness of a finger, made in a wide range of compositions and grades. Various wire products are made by drawing wire rod through dies of diminishing size, subjecting it to heat treatments of various kinds and, depending on the application, possibly applying a specific coating. These processes impart a range of properties in such areas as tensile strength, hardness, frictional resistance, corrosion resistance and adhesion. Bekaert is able to apply its many coating technologies to various materials.
The advanced coatings segment covers industrial coatings and specialized films. Within the industrial coatings activity platform, Bekaert deploys its expertise in the application of coatings to various materials, mainly glass and metal. The company manufactures a range of window films for vehicles and buildings to keep out the sun’s heat, filter out ultraviolet radiation and hold glass together in the event of breakage.
Although its main focus is on intermediate products, Bekaert keeps in close touch with end-users so that it can anticipate their needs and offer its industrial customers the solutions that give them a competitive edge in their markets. Bekaert builds win-win relationships with its customers, based on equal partnerships characterized by mutual trust and under¬standing. Bekaert adds value for customers and end-users all over the world.
In pursuit of its strategic objective of sustainable profitable growth, Bekaert aims for market and technological leadership and is a major player in its markets worldwide.
Bekaert in 2007
| Combined sales: | € 3.4 billion |
| Consolidated sales: | € 2.2 billion |
| Operating result (EBIT): | € 175 million |
| Result for the period (Group): | € 153 million |
| Cash flow: | € 299 million |
| Employees: | 20,400 worldwide |
| Shares traded on Euronext® Brussels: | BEKB |
| Market capitalization: | € 2.0 billion |
| www.bekaert.com | |