Page 16 - Annual report 2020

Round table:
CEO & BU director
Laviosa is an International Italian industrial group with international vision, the same nature of the business makes the Company present in many different markets, each one for his/ her own business sector today sees further opportunities for growth or even diversification?
In the Industrial Additives sector, I don’t see any particular opportunities for diversification concerning the market at the moment; I mean that we are already present in many sectors, some already mature, others in which we have appeared more recently and which are still to be considered developing. On the contrary, I see exciting opportunities for geographical diversification of our production sites, which will allow us to be closer to growing markets, such as India or China, where sales volumes directly connected to the Foundry or Coating sector can grow in an interesting way and allow us greater commercial penetration and customer loyalty, thanks to a more strategic localization. This type of choice would also allow Italian plants to focus on more innovative and high- value productions following, or even better by addressing, some strategically interesting markets.
Elena Menicagli
Growth and diversification have always been essential guidelines for our company. Concerning market sectors that refer to Construction Technologies, I can see opportunities in the field of the sale of minerals with additives, for mechanized excavation and for waterproofing. The aim is, among the other, to create opportunities in the sector of sludge dehydration and transformation into new recycled material, following the latest dictates of the Circular Economy. We are also consolidating our geographical development in India and in markets in the Far East and using our national plants to offer the market products with greater added value and more technologically advanced, such as those with high resistance to salt water and hydrocarbon contamination.
Umberto Laviosa
BU Construction Technologies
No doubt about that. The Pet Care market, in particular the hygiene segment, has grown a lot as a consequence of the pandemic and I believe that, in the coming years, the growth of the market will be driven by premium, natural and safe products for the health of our pet. Pet’s owners are increasingly informed and the purchase choice that comes with it is a conscious choice. The growth of our division will therefore be guided by the ability to interpret this market trend and translate it into new products, as well as by the decision to carry out strategic investment projects in Italy, Turkey and France, aimed at expanding production capacity and producing innovative products to enrich our current offer of products, maybe not only mineral-based.
Olimpia Laviosa
BU Pet Care
Listening carefully to our BU Managers and aware that the issues addressed and proposed are on the agenda in our strategic committees, I can only confirm firmly the guidelines they have expressed. As already said, if there is a secret, which is not secret in our business sector, it is to always be careful and quick in looking for new solutions both in terms of growth of the markets to be served and in terms of dimensional development that often also means verticalization in the context of the production chain.
Giovanni Laviosa
President&CEO
The same question was asked previously to the Chairman and CEO but we believe that your Vision is just as important for the future of the Group: what do you think the strategic guidelines can be to allow the Group to consolidate its growth path?
I believe that from this point of view the Company must continue along the path, moreover already started, of eco-sustainable productions, with attention to the entire supply chain that goes from looking for production factors with green characteristics, to production and packaging, up to the transport logistics sector. We must take a close look at the use of environment-friendly materials, because the future will reward companies that were the first to adopt policies inspired by respect for the environment. Another strategic aspect concerns the widespread maturation of a true spirit of belonging to an international company, but which never loses the memory of tradition, the roots of a family business, always supportive and respectful of the territories in which it is established, fail.
Elena Menicagli
BU Industrial Additives
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BU Industrial Additives