LOS ANGELES — November 30, 2017 — Alcantara, the manufacturer of Italian-made luxury material, has seen its annual sales triple and operating profits increase more than five-fold since the recession.

The company will have a major presence at this year’s Los Angeles Auto Show, as well as at auto shows in Detroit, Chicago and New York over the next six months. The U.S. market currently accounts for about 10 percent of Alcantara’s global sales.

The company’s net sales have risen from 64.3 million euros in 2009 to more than 187 million euros in 2016. Operating profits have jumped from 7.9 million euros to 45.1 million euros during the same period. The company’s Chairman and CEO Andrea Boragno notes that Alcantara’s automotive business has experienced especially strong growth in China and the United States as a result of an increase in brand awareness among automakers and consumers.

Major automakers, such as Acura, Audi, BMW, Dodge, Jaguar, Lamborghini, Lincoln, Maserati, Nissan and Porsche are expected to have cars equipped with Alcantara at this year’s Los Angeles Auto Show.

“As you can see from our strong business results, our emotive, high-tech artisan approach to luxury resonates well with automakers and consumers alike,” says Boragno. “Our relationship with the design community in the automotive industry, as well as throughout the fashion, home furnishings, consumer electronics and marine industries, has helped us significantly increase sales and brand awareness over the last decade.”

Partnerships Equal Growth

Alcantara’s CEO adds that the company sees an unrivaled potential for growth through partnerships with the world’s leading brands.

Premium fashion brands such as Adidas and Swarovski, for example, have launched exclusive collections in collaboration with Alcantara. The material’s versatility extends to some of the world’s most prestigious furnishing brands, including Torre, Cappellini and Ligne Roset, which have featured Alcantara on their product lines.

In the consumer electronics market, Microsoft utilizes Alcantara on its Surface Pro laptops and Sennheiser has incorporated Alcantara in the design of its on-ear headphones.

Investment to Double Production Capacity by 2022

To meet growing demand for its material, the company plans to significantly increase its production capacity. Boragno reports that a five-year investment program totalling 300 million euros is expected to double Alcantara’s overall production capacity.

The five-year expansion plan calls for annual sales to reach 300 million euros, compared to 187 million euros last year. Brand value also is expected to triple from Interbrand’s 2015 value estimate of 100 million euros to 300 million euros over the same period. The number of employees is expected to grow from 598 to around 800, as well.

Sustainability: A Key Value of the Alcantara Brand

Alcantara’s CEO believes the company’s strong commitment to sustainability is a key part of Alcantara’s competitive strategy. A commitment to sustainability is consistent with the long-term goal of increasing the company’s financial value.

“Alcantara is the first Italian industrial company and among the very first companies in the world to have achieved the status of Carbon Neutrality,” Boragno noted. “Since 2009, we have published our own Sustainability Report, which provides transparency for everything we do. We also have worked very hard to build a supply chain that focuses on responsible procurement.”

Posted November 30, 2017

Source: Alcantara S.p.A.

PARIS — November 30, 2017 — Ardian, an independent private investment company, has entered into exclusivity with some family shareholders and Tikehau Capital to acquire a controlling stake into Les Dérivés Résiniques et Terpéniques (DRT). The proposed transaction values DRT at approximately 1 billion euros and is fully supported by DRT’s management team which will remain in place and is headed by its CEO Laurent Labatut. This transaction would be a further step in the company’s development path as many individual shareholders and Tikehau Capital have decided to reinvest part of their proceeds alongside Ardian.

Created in 1932 and headquartered in Dax (France), DRT is a global leading producer of ingredients derived from plant-based chemistry, mainly from pine trees. In that respect, DRT fits perfectly within two of Ardian’s core verticals, namely ingredients and fine chemical. With a turnover estimated at 500 million euros in 2017, DRT is a truly international company with more than 80 percent of its business made outside of France, of which around 25 percent in the Americas and more than 10 percent in Asia. The group employs close to 1,300 people and is operating through a global footprint with four production sites located in France, two in the United States, three in India and one in China.

The two main families of ingredients produced by DRT are terpenes and rosins derivatives. They provide mainly olfactory or tackifying/stickiness properties and are used in various resilient and growing end-markets like Flavors & Fragrance, Health & Nutrition, Adhesives & Coatings, Agriculture, Chemical Intermediates and Energy. DRT has built strong positions on each of those markets thanks to its advanced innovation capabilities (more than 50 people dedicated to R&D), its close partnership with customers, its industrial process know-how with constant investment into extraction and distillation capacities, and its long-term secured sourcing of natural & renewable resources.

DRT is at the forefront of sustainable growth and development. This is a key value for Ardian, acting as a responsible investor. Through a sustainable forest management sourcing, DRT is a green-impact best-in-class player. DRT industrial processes valorize renewable resources and adhere to principles of environment-friendly practice. DRT has also invested significantly into green energy, with a biomass cogeneration plant in France satisfying the vast majority of its energy needs.

DRT has enjoyed a rapid development phase over the past few years with a strong support from Tikehau Capital. In particular, in 2016, DRT made two significant steps in the USA with the $140 million acquisition of Pinova Inc. from Symrise and the construction of a complementary new greenfield plant. Overall, over the past three years, the group has invested more than 85 million euros in organic growth projects.

Posted November 30, 2017

Source: Ardian

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — November 29, 2017—Nearly 25 CEOs and senior executives from North America’s largest healthcare linen, uniform and facility services companies participated in a roundtable during the recent TRSA Healthcare Conference in Salt Lake City. Facilitated by TRSA President and CEO Joseph Ricci, the CEOs, representing organizations responsible for processing more than 70 percent of healthcare linens, scrubs, uniforms, garments and other reusable textiles, discussed issues and trends including:

• Processing hygienically clean healthcare textiles (HCTs) and infection control;
• Improving crisis/disaster planning and response;
• Opportunities to grow the market including Long-Term Care facilities;
• Competition from OPLs and non-profit laundries; and
• Consolidation of the healthcare sector.

Reflecting on media attention questioning laundry cleanliness and natural disasters across the country, TRSA Chair David Potack, Unitex, emphasized that “it is important to develop relationships and plans before a crisis. The process begins with a discussion of self-assessment and contingency planning including identifying stakeholders and communications.”

“There is a growing gap between purchasing and customer service,” said TRSA Healthcare Committee Chair Liz Remillong, Crothall. “Healthcare consolidation is forcing vendors to increasingly negotiate and contract with purchasing departments often removed from daily operations, creating confusion between customer requirements and expectations and contract stipulations. It is our job to educate and bridge this gap.”

The CEOs also discussed the importance of managing linen and minimizing its loss from theft and abuse, as well as recapturing market share of reusable textiles lost to disposables, particularly incontinent pads, barrier gowns and surgical scrubs. To recover, reusables’ value can be leveraged based on life-cycle assessments measuring environmental impact, waste reduction and costs.

“We must take every opportunity to proactively communicate and educate our customers,” observed Randy Bartsch of Ecotex Healthcare Linen Service, who chairs the Advisory Board for Hygienically Clean laundry certification. Linen, uniform and facility services operators are well versed in “infection prevention and other issues related to our proven laundering processes, safety and certifications,” Bartsch noted, with environmental services and nursing staff among primary targets for such communication.

Participating CEOs/Executives

• Randy Bartsch, Ecotex Healthcare Linen Service, Seattle-Tacoma;
• Bob Brill and Greg Shames, Medico Linen Service, Los Angeles;
• Brad Goldstrom, Ameritex Services, Omaha, Neb.;
• Christian Luneburg and Ron Seaman, Florida Linen Services, Pompano Beach, Fla.;
• Karl Fillip, NOVO Health Services, Atlanta;
• Ben Fox, Alsco Inc., Salt Lake City;
• Ed Hazard, Kleen Laundry, Lebanon, N.H.;
• Tim Higdon, Faultless Healthcare Linen, Kansas City, Mo.;
• Jesse Jassny, MediCleanse Linen Service, Seattle-Renton;
• Leonard McCullough, Linen King, Tulsa, Okla.;
• Tim Montague, Foussard Montague Associates, St. Paul, Minn.;
• Brain Polatsek, EcoBrite Linen, Skokie, Ill.;
• David Potack and Michael Potack, Unitex, Elmsford, N.Y.;
• Judy Reino, Reino Linen Service, Gibsonburg, Ohio;
• Liz Remillong, Crothall Healthcare, Chesterbrook, Pa.;
• John Shoemaker, General Linen & Uniform Service, Detroit;
• David Stern, Paris Cos., DuBois, Pa.; and
• Cary Wood, Angelica Corp., Oakbrook Terrace, Ill.

Posted November 29, 2017

Source: TRSA