BUILDING STRENGTH Leading global supplier of building materials Weber is launching a new product this spring, bringing its famous Leca brand to an even wider audience. Emma-Jane Batey spoke to the sales director for Weber Norway Carl, Petter Simonsen, to find out more.
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he globally active Weber Group has been developing and supplying building materials for over 100 years – since it was founded in Paris in 1900. In the early days, Weber produced a gypsum and lime-based façade render, and it is still this family of products that is offered today, with Weber’s portfolio including a complete range of easy-to-apply products for the building and construction industries worldwide. Products such as flooring systems, tile fixing and construction mortars join Weber’s well-known façade materials, with all products developed and manufactured using advanced formulation technology in order to meet the highest technical requirements. Today, Weber has a large network of over 200 production units in 42 countries worldwide, giving it an unrivalled global footprint. Carl Petter Simonsen is the sales director for Weber Norway and he spoke to Industry Europe about how his division fits into the Group. He said, “As part of a large,
globally acting Group, we have incredible access to resources and innovation. It means we are always able to stay openminded with regards to developing new ideas and staying customer focused. But what I think is also a true advantage that, in my experience, is unique to Weber is that there is a real will to develop ourselves and our products, and being part of a financially successful multinational group means we have the possibility to make this happen on a regular basis.” The most well-known of the brands of the Weber Group is Leca, a lightweight expanded clay aggregate used for a wide ranging of building applications and typically made into solid blocks for construction purposes. While it is not so well known outside Norway, where it is primarily used in its raw material state, inside Norway it is a different matter, where the blocks are very popular. Mr Simonsen explained, “The Leca brand is so famous in Norway; it is synonymous with solid, reliable
quality. I even heard it used to describe a defender in a football game on television! In fact, Leca is more widely known than Weber as a brand in Norway. The Norwegian building and construction industry has loved Leca blocks for decades and, as a long-established company, the Leca brand truly underpins our reputation for reliable products.”
New Leca With such an impressive reputation, it is unsurprising that the launch of the first new Leca product for over 20 years is creating quite a stir in Norway. The company is keen to ensure that it draws on the strength of Leca’s reputation with the launch of its ‘new generation Leca’ blocks. Mr Simonsen continued, “The new Leca is so much faster to use it delivers really effective construction applications.” The myriad benefits of the new Leca include its better breathability as a building material. Described as ‘comfortable and
