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March 2001
Refractory activities of Wülfrath and Baker to merge
The Belgian Lhoist Group has further strengthened
its refractories activities by the acquisition of the U.S. Baker-Group.
Baker will merge with Wülfrath Refractories, the refractories division of
Lhoist with its headquarters in Hilden near Düsseldorf in Germany. The merger
has become effective this week after the necessary regulatory approvals
were obtained.
Both companies are active in the field of the production and sales of refractory
products. Their product ranges are complementary and comprise almost the complete
range of shaped and unshaped refractories made from basic materials. Apart
from these, the production also includes non-basic refractories.
The products are supplied to the steel and cement industry worldwide where
they are used in furnaces, ladles, converters and other applications.
The new organisation has a total of 10 production facilities in Germany, France,
the U.S., Great Britain, Luxembourg and Sweden as well as shareholdings
in production companies in Mexico and Taiwan. Sale of the refractory materials
is conducted through a worldwide sales network with locations in all relevant
customer countries.
With the merger, the companies are reacting to the continuous worldwide consolidation
in the refractories industry, as well as on the customer side. The objective
of the merger is to strengthen competitiveness by combining the technical
know-how, improving customer service and optimising production. |
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