The right cover Wienerberger

THE RIGHT COVER

Whether for a new build, renovation work or the preservation of historical monuments, Wienerberger’s clay roof tiles are amongst the best in Europe.

Austria-headquartered Wienerberger Group is a major provider of smart solutions for the entire building envelope. Together with its more than 16,000 employees at 197 production sites in 29 countries, the company improves the life of people and, with its products and systems, enables energy-efficient, healthy, climatefriendly and affordable living.

Wienerberger is Europe’s largest clay roof tile manufacturer. In Western Europe, its clay roof tiles are sold under the brand Koramic. In the British market, the company is represented by the brand Sandtoft, and in central and south-east Europe Wienerberger operates through its Tondach brand, acquired in 2014.

Durable, cost-effective, sustainable

Roofs made from clay roof tiles offer the best protection for houses against weather and wet conditions. Clay roof tiles protect the building and offer numerous possibilities for the expression of regional identity and cultural heritage. They are aesthetic and durable, as well as cost-effective.

The clay tile is a natural product, without chemical additives. It offers numerous design possibilities and is ideal for sloped roof designs. The clay roof tile portfolio by Wienerberger cleverly combines functionality and design aesthetics, offering a perfectly engineered economical roof solution. The range covers varnished, refined, flat bricks, or those with an engobe finish, to more traditional flat roof tiles.

The company’s system solutions, along with their matching components, make work easier for roofers. These additional components can include roofing underlays, insulating material and other accessories, such as the Sturmfix 2.0 Wind Protection for example. The company is continuously expanding its range and is developing a variety of solutions tailored specifically to local needs.

Sustainability is at the core of Wienerberger’s products. Clay is a renewable resource, widely and locally available. The sustainable extraction of clay contributes to new habitats for nature and to greater biodiversity.

Moreover, ceramic products are characterised by an extremely long lifespan, which can reach up to a hundred years and more.

Ceramic products are also colour-proof, permanently beautiful and virtually maintenance free. In this way they contribute to a sustainable, value-stable operation.

Needless to say, the roof contributes significantly to a building’s energy efficiency. With its energy-efficient brick solutions and its innovative piping systems, Wienerberger is already contributing significantly to improved environmental protection.

In terms of its actual operations, Wienerberger intends to step up its activities aimed at the decarbonisation of production and the product portfolio, the promotion of the circular economy and the preservation of biodiversity. The targets set for 2023 include a 15% reduction in CO2 emissions against 2020. Moreover, all newly developed products are to be 100% recyclable or reusable.

Unshaken by pandemic

Over the past 10 years, the company has been repositioned on a completely new basis, and, as a result of its consistent focus on performance enhancement, has succeeded in significantly increasing its profitability. That helped the business survive the pandemic unscathed; Wienerberger’s good performance during the Covid-19 crisis has underlined its business resilience.

Heimo Scheuch, the new CEO appointed in the spring, said: “Our strong first 2021 quarter results clearly show that in recent months we have reacted swiftly and appropriately to the challenging environment. “

He further pointed out that the first months of the year were characterised by increased renovation activity across all of Wiener-

berger’s markets, and in this segment, the company has benefited substantially from its sustainable and innovative product solutions.

“In the first half of 2021, Covid-19 continued to contribute to ongoing uncertainty in our markets, but we nonetheless expect to see a recovery of demand in both new build and infrastructure in Europe.”

Expected recovery

Scheuch emphasised that Wienerberger’s resilient supply chain structures, including local sourcing and supporting hedging policies across all its business units, will continue to provide some level of protection from rising input prices. Wienerberger will offset the current price growth for raw materials and other operating supplies by correspondingly increasing its prices in 2021.

“From Wienerberger’s perspective, the shortage of skilled labour and the growing importance of healthy living have the potential to drive significant growth for our business, further supported by digitisation of processes and the use of prefabricated solutions that will result in improved efficiency on the construction site and savings of valuable resources.”

He affirmed that the developments of recent months have confirmed the strength of the Wienerberger Group. “With our Strategy 2023, we are now moving forward, building on this strong foundation. We are therefore very well positioned to grow organically and further advance our pioneering role by offering sustainable and smart solutions to the construction industry. At the same time, we will take advantage of opportunities for acquisitions and thus play an active role in the consolidation of our industry.” n