Click the arrow to play
TRANSCRIPT
K. SCHIPPER: Hi, I’m K. Schipper with the latest hard surfaces industry news from Radio Stone Update.
00:32
One of the world’s largest private-equity firms will acquire sintered-stone manufacturer Neolith. CVC announced plans in late April to acquire the Neolith Group through its CVC Capital Partners VII global private equity fund.
Although terms of the transaction weren’t disclosed, Spanish financial media reports earlier in the year suggested a possible sale value of 400 million to 500 million euros.
The CEO of Neolith Group, Jose Luis Ramon, stated, “It is a privilege to welcome CVC into the great Neolith project and its arrival will no doubt represent a turning point in the group’s history, accelerating our ambitious strategic objectives.” Ramon added that CVC’s experience and global presence should help Neolith develop its potential.
This is the second time in three years that Neolith will change ownership. In June 2019, the founding Esteve family sold a majority stake in the company to a subsidiary of Investindustrial, a U.K.-based private equity firm in a deal estimated to be in the 250 million euro range.
At that time, the chairman of the Industrial Advisory Board for Investindustrial identified the sintered-stone sector as the fastest growing niche within high-end design surfaces solutions. Within the sector, Neolith is a global leader based on a strong culture of quality and R&D.
After the first of this year, various Spanish business-media outlets began reporting that Investindustrial had begun shopping its stake in the company. The reports also placed Neolith’s revenue at 145 million euros, with an EBITDA growth rate of approximately 20 percent annually during Investindustrial’s ownership.
Luxembourg-based CVC is the largest private-equity investment fund in Europe and the third-largest worldwide, with approximately $122 billion in assets under management.
02:44
Cosentino Group set another record year in 2021. The Cantoria, Spain-based company had sales of more than 1.5 billion euros, for a net increase in profit of 59 percent.
The company’s 2021 revenues are an increase of 30 percent from 2020, while a net profit of 104 million euros represents a 59 percent increase from the previous year. The company also reports creating 685 new jobs and an investment of 150 million euros in improvements and additions to its Silestone® and Dekton® production.
Cosentino completed implementation of its Silestone production, including the HybriQ® technology and increased productivity with its two Dekton lines. The company also coordinated construction of new buildings for two additional Dekton lines, the first of which is scheduled to begin production this summer.
Under the company’s Strategic Sustainability Plan, more than 15 million euros went to environmental and safety assets last year, including what will be the largest industrial photovoltaic installation for self-consumption in Spain. With approximately 37,000 solar panels, the system will generate 35 MW of peak power.
Seventy percent of the new jobs are at the company’s industrial campus and headquarters in Cantoria. The company employs more than 5,400 people worldwide. Cosentino distributes its products and brands in more than 110 countries. It has seven production factories and its smart logistics center in Spain, plus one factory in Brazil and more than 140 commercial and distribution facilities worldwide.
04:36
Meanwhile, Neolith isn’t the only surfaces company to find new funding recently. Global natural-stone processor Polycor announced last week that it is now under the ownership of equity firms Birch Hill Equity Partners and Investissement Quebec. The date of the sale was April 29.
The two firms and the company’s management take over from TorQuest Partners, Wynnchurch Capital and PNC Mezzanine Capital. No terms of the deal were disclosed.
The transaction is expected to support the continued growth of Polycor in Quebec and across its global operations. Polycor employs nearly 1,300 people and owns more than 50 quarries and 20 manufacturing plants across North America and Europe. The company’s headquarters will remain in Quebec City.
Birch Hill is a Toronto-based mid-market private equity firm with more than $5 billion in capital under management. Investissement Quebec is a holding company owned by the province of Quebec that acts as a financial institution and economic-development agency that supports creation and growth of businesses of all sizes in that province.
Polycor CEO Patrick Perus called partnering with Birch Hill and Investissement Quebec an exciting moment for Polycor’s employees, customers and partners. He added that the two companies share Polycor’s commitment to prioritizing and fostering sustainability, innovation and environmental stewardship.
Polycor is the first natural stone quarrier to make a firm commitment to carbon neutrality and among the first in the manufacturing industry to take a leadership role on decarbonization.
TorQuest, Wynnchurch and PNC Mezzanine combined to provide the funding for Polycor’s acquisition of Swenson Granite and Rock of Ages in 2016.
07:42
Those who attended last month’s Coverings 2022 in Las Vegas don’t need statistics to tell them the show was a success. However, Taffy Event Strategies, the event planning company for Coverings, reports nearly 18,000 hard-surface professionals attended the four-day show.
The figure represents an 18 percent increase in attendance from last July’s Coverings in Orlando, Fla. Jennifer Hoff, president of Taffy Event Strategies, says the company is pleased and excited by the turnout and the energy. Said Hoff, “The show’s global turnout and action-packed activities were key indicators that in-person events are valuable to tile and stone industry members who are ready to do business, connect with peers and suppliers, as well as see, touch and feel products onsite.”
Showgoers explored exhibits in nine global pavilions hosted by the United States, Spain, Italy, Brazil, Turkey, Portugal, India, and China. Exhibitors represented 34 countries, with 69 percent of them from outside the United States.
This year’s Top 10 Tile Trends were seen throughout the show floor, and three different contractor tours allowed tour-goers a close-up look at the newest and most-innovative tools and equipment. Also popular was podcast participation, with 10 live podcasts, including a special edition of Radio Stone Update hosted by publisher and editor Emerson Schwartzkopf.
Coverings 2022 also offered 24 educational sessions focused on three tracks. Plans for Coverings 2023 are already in the works. It’s scheduled for April 18-21 at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando. For more information, go to www.coverings.com.
09:41
EMERSON SCHWARTZKOPF: This is Emerson Schwartzkopf. “Glass quartz” – engineered-stone slabs made with fine glass powders – will remain under the U.S. unfair-trade tariffs on quartz surfaces from China.
On April 25, The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit found that the U.S. Commerce Department didn’t violate procedure in 2019 by expanding the definition of quartz surfaces to include those made with fine-crushed glass powder.
The case dates back to 2018, when quartz manufacturer Cambria Company LLC alleged below-market sales of heavily subsidized Chinese-made quartz surfaces in the United States. The Commerce Department– at Cambria’s request – widened the scope in February 2019 to include slabs made with finely-crushed glass powders that appeared to evade a possible quartz tariff.
The U.S. International Trade Commision eventually imposed special tariffs of 360%-plus on the Chinese products, including the so-called “glass quartz” materials.
Three U.S. importers and one Chinese manufacturer challenged Commerce’s decision to include the glass-based materials. The U.S. Court of International Trade dismissed the case in late 2020, and the appeals court affirmed that action.
K. SCHIPPER: In other news from around the industry….
11:13
The Natural Stone Institute announces the newest version of the Dimension Stone Design Manual is now available for download or hard-copy purchase. The 2022 edition will be of special interest to commercial installers, fabricators, design professionals and suppliers to the construction sector, as it includes major revisions to the installation chapters.
New graphics in the manual explain coursed ashlar, split-face stone and dry-stack detailing. Expanded anchorage graphics showcase additional anchor types currently in use. Graphics have also been updated to include continuous insulation components and thermal separations where necessary. All new graphics are compliant with ASHRAE codes.
12:01
COMPAC strengthened its presence in the U.S. with the opening of a new showroom in Miami on April 28. The innovative studio known as Salon, the Matter Mastering Immersion, presents, in an experimental way, the different possibilities offered by COMPAC materials and becomes a space where architects, designers and professionals from these fields can transfer their ideas into real projects.
The 1,500-square foot space includes an exhibition area of different COMPAC materials, meeting rooms and different work areas. COMPAC CEO Paco Sanchis describes the showroom as “…a meeting point for dialogue with professionals in the sector.”
Featured at the grand opening included an 860-square-foot space entitled Materic Emotion designed by Elisa Ossino that’s a sensory and cognitive path through COMPAC materials. Visitors were also exposed to Arik Levy’s designs for the Ice of Genesis collection.
13:03
And, LX Hausys America Inc., announces that its entire portfolio of HIMACS solid Surface and Viatera Quartz Surface products have achieved Declare label status. Issued by the International Living Future Institute. The labels provide an important level of transparency by disclosing all product ingredients, enabling customers to see information on a product in order to make informed purchasing decisions.
LX Hausys America President K.J. Kim says, “Adding the Declare label to our family of surface products is another step in fulfilling our vision of creating human-friendly and eco-conscious living spaces.”
The Declare label covers the company’s expansive range of more than 200 different colors. In addition to showing the product’s ingredients, the Declare label also provides the product’s life expectancy, its embodied carbon and end-of-life options.
Remember, you can keep up with industry imports with our monthly Hard Surfaces Report. Our online newsletter, Slab and Sheet, appears on alternate Wednesdays. For notes and a transcript of this podcast, go to www.radiostoneupdate.com
For Radio Stone Update, I’m K. Schipper, and we’ll see you here again soon.
