Roto has recently held its sixth International Press Day in Warsaw, an event attended by 50 journalists from 12 different countries.
The German-based window and door hardware manufacturer reported on its achievements over the last year, as well as presenting its view on the market situation and outline plans for the future.
In a briefing to the press from Western Europe, Roto UK sales director Rob Norman explained how Roto had been able to achieve growth in sales to the high-end of the market, despite reduction in the size of the market overall.
This growth area included several strategic core products such as tilt and turn, folding-sliding hardware and Roto’s DoorSafe programme which, as well as locks incorporates hinge and threshold products.
Roto also announced a new modular system for open-out windows called TSH 30, which brings tilt and turn technology to outward-opening windows, solving issues of weather-sealing and security on units with large glazed areas.
Prestigious projects to feature Roto hardware over the last year include the London 2012 Olympic village and The Lancasters, a Georgian terrace on the north edge of Hyde Park that has recently been converted into ultra-prime apartments.
Western Europe marketing manager Ferry van Wezel explained how the Roto Campus training initiative had been extended outside the company as a service to its strategic distribution partners, and that over the next year Roto will also be offering web-based training to its partners. Roto has already embraced social media such as Twitter in its marketing and intends to widen the scope of its online communication in the Western Europe region.
In the main International Press Conference, Roto Group CEO Dr Eckhard Keill and CFO Michael Stangier said they expected the year to end with an overall increase in business of 3% worldwide for 2011. This represents a record annual sales total for the second year in succession.
In 2010, Roto had an average of 4,000 employees worldwide. This figure has risen to 4,100 in 2011. However, investments overall have doubled and Roto claims to have returned to pre-crisis investment levels. These investments have mainly been made in areas such as quality management, logistics and targeted market development, as well as development of new products and systems.
Dr Keill looked positively towards the year ahead, although he explained how he deliberately avoided making general market forecasts, saying it was impossible to make a serious forecast because so much guesswork was involved. The chairman concluded by stating that, “In spite of a difficult situation in general, we still strive to achieve a slight sales growth once again in 2012”.
In closing, he cited four ‘specific strengths’, the pillars on which Roto aimed to build: the first being closeness to its customers, helping them to become more competitive; the second a constant striving to increase business performance and make a perceptible difference to the customer. The third priority is market-driven innovation and expansion of its product portfolio, and last but not least, a major strength of Roto is found in its international expertise.
You can follow Roto UK on Twitter at http://twitter.com/RotoFrank
The German-based window and door hardware manufacturer reported on its achievements over the last year, as well as presenting its view on the market situation and outline plans for the future.
In a briefing to the press from Western Europe, Roto UK sales director Rob Norman explained how Roto had been able to achieve growth in sales to the high-end of the market, despite reduction in the size of the market overall.
This growth area included several strategic core products such as tilt and turn, folding-sliding hardware and Roto’s DoorSafe programme which, as well as locks incorporates hinge and threshold products.
Roto also announced a new modular system for open-out windows called TSH 30, which brings tilt and turn technology to outward-opening windows, solving issues of weather-sealing and security on units with large glazed areas.
Prestigious projects to feature Roto hardware over the last year include the London 2012 Olympic village and The Lancasters, a Georgian terrace on the north edge of Hyde Park that has recently been converted into ultra-prime apartments.
Western Europe marketing manager Ferry van Wezel explained how the Roto Campus training initiative had been extended outside the company as a service to its strategic distribution partners, and that over the next year Roto will also be offering web-based training to its partners. Roto has already embraced social media such as Twitter in its marketing and intends to widen the scope of its online communication in the Western Europe region.
In the main International Press Conference, Roto Group CEO Dr Eckhard Keill and CFO Michael Stangier said they expected the year to end with an overall increase in business of 3% worldwide for 2011. This represents a record annual sales total for the second year in succession.
In 2010, Roto had an average of 4,000 employees worldwide. This figure has risen to 4,100 in 2011. However, investments overall have doubled and Roto claims to have returned to pre-crisis investment levels. These investments have mainly been made in areas such as quality management, logistics and targeted market development, as well as development of new products and systems.
Dr Keill looked positively towards the year ahead, although he explained how he deliberately avoided making general market forecasts, saying it was impossible to make a serious forecast because so much guesswork was involved. The chairman concluded by stating that, “In spite of a difficult situation in general, we still strive to achieve a slight sales growth once again in 2012”.
In closing, he cited four ‘specific strengths’, the pillars on which Roto aimed to build: the first being closeness to its customers, helping them to become more competitive; the second a constant striving to increase business performance and make a perceptible difference to the customer. The third priority is market-driven innovation and expansion of its product portfolio, and last but not least, a major strength of Roto is found in its international expertise.
You can follow Roto UK on Twitter at http://twitter.com/RotoFrank
