Fittings 01

2 the Facebook eFFect 3 on the shoulders oF titans 20 turning paper boxes into money

FittingsNo. 1 · Spring 2011

30 min. update

CEEWe are

What you didn’t knoW about us

iPadWin an

Quiz onback page

make deliveries go smooth

The Logistic Mercenaries

honeymoon

The

is over4

10

13

the vikings have arrived 22

Help!

Takemehome

18

16Inside

Fittings issue 1, distributed April 2011 Fittings is the employee magazine for Wolseley CEE staff in Austria, Switzerland, The Netherlands and Luxembourg. Publication by Wolseley CEE. Circula-tion: 2300. Available languages: English, German, Dutch and French.

editoriAl responsibility: Wolseley CEE/Charlotte Gullach Büttrich. Journalistic production and project management: Radical Communica-tions/Patrick May. design and layout: Appetizer/Simon Johnsen. photography: Das Buro/Emil Lyd-ers, Peter Lous. Print: Trykcentret.

editoriAl committee: Wasco/Sacha Büchele, [email protected]; ÖAG/Julia Willrodt, [email protected]; Tobler/Jacqueline Made, [email protected]; CFM/Peter Broecker, [email protected]; Wolseley CEE/Tobias Roser, [email protected]

Colophon

EvEryonE on Face-book risks to, sooner or later, get a social poke from an old friend or a long lost family mem-ber. Sometimes you even find friends, family or colleagues you didn’t even know you had. That is in a way what Fittings will do for you: con-nect you to colleagues in Austria, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Holland and beyond. People you didn’t even know were your colleagues - until now. People serving the same customers, in the same industry - doing the same job.

There’s something else Fittings and Face-book have in common. Scientists are convinced that we have the cure for cancer, the answer on how to solve world pov-erty, pollution, illiteracy, famine and at least a dozen other serious is-sues - if only we would

be able to connect what we know on a global lev-el. A promise that thanks to social media initia-tives like Facebook starts getting realistic.

Even though our chal-lenges are more busi-ness related, the prin-ciple of people sharing insights, ideas and so-lutions to resolve issues and problems remain. Fittings wants to pro-vide you with a platform where insights, back-grounds, ideas and in-put that helps you un-derstanding the bigger picture while supporting your job can be shared.

I hope you like this first issue and that we can inspire you to con-tribute in the future. Let us know what you think.

Happy readingYou can write to Charlotte at [email protected]. Feel free to share your ideas, comments - both positive and critics.

The Facebook effect

Charlotte Gullach Büttrich

Chief responsible editor for [email protected]

Tobler +41 44 735 50 00CFM +352 4995-1Wasco +31 88 099 5000

OÄG +43 50406 0DT Group +45 39559700Wolseley +44 118 929 8700

UseFUl nUmBers

We are CEE – What you didn’t know about us

In spite of our differences, we cater to the same customer: the professional. And pro-fessionals like to deal with professionals.

Ask ole – Anything you like

The Honeymoon is over

It’s been 15 months since DT Group took over the financial responsibility for CEE.

The Logistic Mercenaries

make deliveries go smooth

Ideas@work

Fittings’ non exclusive white board where we share ideas from all the divisions - also the Nordics.

Win an iPad

4

810

13

20

24

our sun is our natural resource

The story of: solar power

Help! The vikings have arrived

Congratulations

TitansÖAG is celebrating its 140th. anniversary. The company was established in 1871 un-der the name ‘Armaturen- und Maschinenfabrik’ in Vienna. This makes the company the eldest sprout in the CEE family and a part of a very exclusive club of 50 or so companies that man-aged to get 100 years or older

in Austria. The company had to wait another 76 years for its cur-rent name: Österreichischen Ar-maturen Ges.m.b.H. (in 1947) - abbreviated simply to ÖAG in 1989 when the company went public. The organization has planned a number of events to celebrate this anniversary with customers, suppliers and staff.

On the shoulders of

MAyBE it’s not a coincidence that ÖAG is the eldest sprout in the CEE Family. The oldest (registered) com-pany in Europe you find in ... exactly - Austria, in Salzburg

to be exact. Stift-skeller St. Peter, a restaurant with-in the monastery walls of St. Peter’s Arch abbey, was founded more than 1200! years ago in 803 AD. You have

to go back anoth-er 100 years (705 AD) and take a trip to Japan to witness the founding of the oldest company in the world: Keiun-kan.

ÖAg Founded in 1871Wolseley Founded in 1887dt group Founded in 1896cFm Founded in 1920tobler Founded in 1957Wasco Founded in 1970

ÖAG eldest

Austrian History

Stiftskeller

St. Peter

3Fittings 1 · 2011

We differ in size, we operate in different geographies, our stores look different - and we differ in the stuff we sell. While tobler, Öag, Wasco and CFm focus on heating and plumbing, dt group and Woodcote are big in timber - the so called heavy side of the business.

Yet at the end of the day, in spite of our differences, we cater to the same cus-tomer: the professional. And profession-als like to deal with professionals.

Distribution brings Tobler ahead of the game

1What is Tobler’s biggest asset?Tobler has a logis-

tic setup to distribute its more than 60.000 prod-ucts that is second to

none, guaranteeing cus-tomers 24 hours deliv-ery - no matter where in the country they are. Also, Tobler has 720 dedicated employees that are inter-

ested in advancing and developing Tobler. They know the heating busi-ness and more than 5000 professional customers re-ly on their know how.

2Where does To-bler differenti-ate from its com-

petitors? It’s 40 stores, called To-bler marchés, makes for a fine mazed network that is hard for competitors to copy. Another winning proposition is Tobler’s E-commerce platform creat-ing loyal customers (read more on page 21). Last but not least the wide as-sortment of products and the advanced product management keeping the inventory in top shape.

CEEWe are

What you didn’t knowabout us

4 Fittings 1 · 2011

More on next page

Loyal staff makes the difference for Austrian ÖAG

Established: in 1957Country: SwitzerlandHeadquarters in: UrdorfBranches: 40 (called Tobler marchés)Staff: 720Main customer segment: InstallersMD: Heinz WiedmerMarketshare: 30%Revenue: CHF 370 million

Established: in 1871Country: AustriaHeadquarters in: ViennaBranches: 47

Staff: 820Main customer seg-ment: InstallersMD: Helmut Dieter Kus

Marketshare: between 25 and 30% (from largest category)

3What is the big-gest challenge Tobler faces?

The weak Euro makes it more lucrative then ev-er for especially German competitors to challenge Tobler for market share.

4 How is Tobler going to deal with this chal-

lenge?Tobler uses its network of marchés to strike back as it is the fundament for excellent relations with customers.

5 How is Tobler positioned in terms of market-

share?Tobler is active in four ar-eas. They are the number one distributor of heat-ing products - in fact, the Swiss scion of CEE is twice as big as the num-ber two. In heat genera-tion, Tobler is leading, as well as in servicing heat generation installa-tions (with app. 40.000 contracts). In plumbing, where Tobler sells behind the wall items only, the

division is among the big-gest three.

6What is Tobler’s opportunity to increase mar-

ketshare?There’s opportunities in the heat generation mar-ket where Tobler is well positioned to increase market share. The com-plexity of heat generation installations requires pro-fessional consultancy - in which Tobler is investing at the moment.

1What is ÖAG’s biggest asset?The most precious

assets within ÖAG are definitely its experienced and very loyal people. To an extend where com-petitors that are eager to copy ÖAG’s success ac-tually try to steal staff away. A lot of people have been with the com-pany for 20 - 25 years -

they know the business, they know the customers. That is impossible to re-place.

2Where does ÖAG differentiate from its competi-

tors?ÖAG has been the mar-ket leader for many years but competition has in-creased recently. ÖAG

has still strong cards though like its 47 branch-es, 14 showrooms and 4 distribution centers - the best network in Aus-tria. At the moment ÖAG is optimizing it’s logistic network to stay ahead. Another winning differen-tiator is the international network ÖAG is a part of. Thanks to Wolseley, ÖAG has muscles that helps negotiating better deals

with suppliers, something none of its close competi-tors have access to.

3What is the big-gest challenge ÖAG faces?

The market in Austria suffers from a low activity level. Competition in re-cent years has invested in new branches and show-rooms - increasing the pressure.

Spotlight

5Fittings 1 · 2011

4 How is ÖAG go-ing to deal with this challenge?

ÖAG will initiate a train-ing institute and staff will be offered professional sales training to increase sales skills - a welcome addition to their profound knowledge of the indus-try and products. There’s also plans to both update the branches, starting this year, and update the on-line presence.

5 How is ÖAG posi-tioned in terms of market share?

The market share var-ies from region to region but in average it is around 22%. It’s slightly higher in the Vienna region.

6What is ÖAG’s opportunity to increase mar-

ketshare?ÖAG is developing a se-ries of initiatives like in-creasing the service level, focus on exclusive prod-ucts, push the private la-bel range (now exceeding 10% of the total worths of sales), and, using the Wolseley network to get better conditions and bet-ter prices from our Euro-pean suppliers.

Wolseley reorganized in 2010 and as a result the company now is divided into four geographical business units: Usa & Canada, Uk, France and ... the rest of europe. the latter cluster of countries includes Cee (Central and eastern europe), dt group and Woodcote.

Excellent relations means loyal customers and suppliers for CFM

1What is CFM’s biggest asset?CFM has a long

history in Luxembourg (more than ninety years) and has en-joyed somewhat of a monopolistic sta-tus. As a result the company reaps the benefits of long rela-tionships, both to sup-pliers and custom-

ers. That means good deals and service from suppliers and loyal customers.

2Where does CFM differen-tiate from its

competitors?CFM’s assortment is, thanks to the large pool of suppliers, un-rivaled in Luxembourg

and together with the fact that CFM has the largest showroom, the company offers a unique proposition to its customers.

3What is the biggest chal-lenge CFM is

facing? German competition. German competitors

Wasco is the unrivaled leader within spare parts in The Netherlands

1What is Wasco’s biggest asset?Wasco puts the

customer first and considers therefore the customer to be its single most impor-tant asset. However, since this is a people business, staff plays a key role in the relation with customers and therefore they should share first place. Was-co started 40 years ago as a family busi-ness and still has some of that spirit.

Staff has a heart for the company and staff as well as customers are very loyal.

2Where does Wasco differ-entiate from

its competitors?Wasco is the unrivaled market leader when it comes to spare parts and their service is absolutely top. They deliver the kind of ser-vice that any custom-er can only dream of and no competitor can

match.

3What is the biggest chal-lenge Wasco

is facing? In a way you could argue that Wasco’s strongest asset is also the company’s achilles heel since customers, especially the larger accounts, have grown used to excellent ser-vice without paying for the extra service giv-en. The challenge is to balance the mix of

Continued


customers and products while managing margins tightly. This requires a dif-ferent mindset, also from the sales people.

4 How is Wasco going to deal with this chal-

lenge?

Wasco is realizing that small and medium sized customers have the larg-est value perception of the service provided by Wasco and therefore these segments are ex-tremely important to in-crease the focus upon. Wasco is reviving its

academy and has plans to expand training to its staff.

5 How is Wasco positioned in terms of market-

share? Wasco is by far the mar-ket leader in spare parts (15.000 SKU’s on stock), within the top 4 in heat-ing and has a smaller marketshare in plumbing (four showrooms for pro-fessional customers).

6What is Wasco’s opportunity to increase mar-

ketshare?Sanitary is definitely an area that Wasco is plan-ning to expand. Recently they added a new series of tiles to the assortment to position themselves as a one stop, all included shopping facility for cus-tomers. Another growth area is under floor heat-ing, which is a growing market in The Nether-lands.

typically are organized in larger chains including sixty or more branches - putting prices under pres-sure.

4 How is CFM go-ing to deal with this challenge?

Become better at using the synergies from being a part of Wolseley.

5 How is CFM po-sitioned in terms of marketshare?

CFM has five product cat-egories it focuses on. Overall the marketshare is calculated to be 30%. The company is the mar-ket leader when it comes to sanitary ware, tubes (heating) and PVF (pipes, valves and fittings that go in the ground).

6What is CFM’s opportunity to increase mar-

ketshare? CFM focuses on heating as this is a growing mar-ket in Luxembourg. CFM on the one hand side wants to use the network to be able to get more competitive prices but re-alizes at the same time that they because of their

relative small size can not be the price leader. Therefore the companies’ strategy is build around being the service lead-er. One initiative that has started already is that all sales people get intensive sales training.

Established: in 1920Country: LuxembourgHeadquarters in: Luxem-bourg city

Branches: 2Staff: 114 (and 11 different nationalities!!)Main customer segment: installersMD: Peter BroeckerMarketshare: 30% and 30% (from largest category)Revenue: €40 million

Established: in 1970Country: The Nether-landsHeadquarters in: Twello Branches: 26Staff: 357

Main customer seg-ment: installersMD: Herold van den BeltMarketshare: 10 - 15%Revenue: €210 mil-lion

Spotlight

7Fittings 1 · 2011

Askole

... anything you likein an organization with more than

2.000 people, the distance to the top management may seem long.

Ask Ole is an initiative to decrease that distance considerably. You now have the

opportunity to ask CEE’s most senior manager, Ole Mikael, a burning question.

Don’t let this chance pass you.

would you like to ask Ole?What

Why did we have to sell Manzardo in Italy? MAnzArDo has definitely po-tential but consid-ering the attention, care and time re-quired to develop and grow that po-tential, we could not guarantee the company to suc-ceed within the Wolseley frame-work. Given its low market share, ex-pensive infrastruc-ture with high costs and very high work-ing capital, we con-cluded that in the long run we would be better off to in-vest resources in other, more attrac-tive markets. For CEE the dispos-al means that we lost a geographical market but in re-turn we freed sig-nificant resourc-es, both time and money, to invest in ÖAG. Tobler, Was-co and CFM. And that is good news for everyone.

Will we see you walking around in the DC’s a lot? As MuCH as I can but probably not as much as I would like. I am a firm believer to leave making deci-sions up to the peo-ple that have to live with the decisions

they make every day. Locally peo-ple know what is best as they know the market and the customer best. I on the other hand, will ensure the opera-tive framework that

makes this pos-sible. To gain the best foundation for doing so, I of course have to visit all companies fre-quently so I know the businesses in-side out.

What has been your most diffi-cult deci-sion for CEE so far?

CLosInG down the Romagna re-gion in Italy and later on selling the rest of Manzardo, both on a person-al and profession-al level has been a hard decision. Manzardo is a com-pany at the very core of Wolseley’s business, plumb-ing and heating, with a fantastic his-tory and competent staff. We started a number of urgent restructuring initia-tives which actually took the company to break even and I am convinced that we could have de-veloped the com-pany into a profita-ble business in due time. Personally I would have liked to witness this and have a profession-al part in that suc-cess.


Send your question to [email protected] and we make sure your questions gets answered. Don’t mince your words – you will remain totally anonymous.

Will we experience long term strategic planning with DT Group managing CEE?

yEs. We have es-tablished a profes-sional and compe-tent management team. Together we developed a robust strategy encom-passing both short and long term. We needed to move fast as our earn-ings were close to zero. Compared to other Wolseley companies most of the CEE companies underperformed on gross margin. Our first priority was to fix this - by focusing on prod-ucts and services that are in demand of customers. We have seen very good improve-ments the last year, and today we have most of the ingredients - the right products, sup-pliers, customers, and not the least people - to build future profits. The

fact that we are profitable, puts us in a better position in Wolseley. The status of Tobler, ÖAG and Wasco within Wolseley has been upgraded which gives us new possibilities to de-velop the business-es. As a result we can start the next phase of our jour-ney, which will be a far more positive one. The focus will be on profitability i.e. optimize oper-ations, service and identify areas that can improve the bottom line and money tied up run-ning the business. We will invest in the people and we will initiate devel-opment in all divi-sions and will try new things. Thanks to all staff, we are now on right track, but we need to keep pace!

Can we expect the intro-duction of additional product catego-ries? THErE’s no yes or no in this mat-ter. Our first priority is to get the most out of what we al-ready have. Sell more of the prod-ucts we have in our assortment, cre-ate better margins, get more out of our existing customers with a strong focus on creating loyalty and added value. Therefore it is so important that we develop the small and medium sized customer segment as they perceive most value from us. That however doesn’t exclude the possibility of new product categories as long as it makes sense and it fits in our focus on profit-ability.

9Fittings 1 · 2011

Honeymoon

is over

It’s been 15 months since DT Group took over the financial responsibility for CEE.

As always in a new relation, you have to get used to a new partner. She might talk a little bit too much. She might make you take your socks to the laundry bin. But the pink glasses are on and we happily accept our partners oddities.

As in all healthy relations, at some point the honey moon is over, the pink glass-es are off and the balance is made up. In this case, the balance is impressive!

The

ÖAG

Gross MarginSales

CFM

Gross MarginSales

In CFM we for example closed the steel department.

In ÖAG we changed the pricing methodology and renegotiated terms with suppliers.

All graphs: Development last 3½ years, with rebound the last year


WE’rE TAkInG prof-it margins dead serious. In fact, so serious that management installed a monthly award for the CEE division who’s able

to increase its gross margin most compared to the same period last year. Below you find the winners since August 2010.

Aug cFm

Sep Wasco

Oct Wasco

Nov cFm

Dec tobler

Jan manzardo

Feb Wasco

Mar tobler

2.0%

1.9%

2.7%

4.5%

5.2%

4.1%

3.7%

3.6%

ProFITABILITy has increased with 300% (from GBP 4 million to GBP 16 million) in first half of current financial year. We did this thanks to an extreme focus on value creation where we evaluated the profitability of both customers, prod-ucts, suppliers and re-gions/branches.

With customers that were unprofitable, we renegotiated contracts.

Where we could not get a better deal, we decid-ed to exit the custom-er. The same principle we applied for products, suppliers and regions/branches. This resulted in a decline in sales but a steep increase of the gross margin. We elimi-nated operations that are not profitable which al-low us to focus on initia-tives that create value.

serious about margins

Thermometer

More on next page

11Fittings 1 · 2011

CusToMErs do not always appreciate the service we actu-ally give them. A good exam-ple we got from Wasco. They sold 242.472 standard screws to a single cus-tomer at € 0,03 per screw. They were sold (and picked) per sin-gle unit and packed in bags with an average of 17 screws. In all 16.500 picks accounting to €0,44 per pick. FOR FREE. The

reaction of the customer? They weren’t aware! The solution for this case was rather simple. Wasco agreed with the cus-tomer to deliv-er the screws in standard quanti-ties e.g. in box-es of 200 piec-es each. At the same time, the overall contract has been rene-gotiated and Wasco gets a better margin from this par-ticular customer now.

When service costs dearly

Thermometer

Continued

Tobler

Wasco

Manzardo

CEE (incl. Manzardo)

Gross MarginSales

Gross MarginSales

Gross MarginSales

Gross MarginSales

In Tobler the consequence of the big bang approach has been that product categories like air conditioning were sold.

In Wasco we revised terms for several large accounts and made them more profitable.

The exercise also lead to the closing of the Romagna region in Italy and we sold the rest of the company, Manzardo.


42Tobler Haustechnik AGBaselland10 yearsTruck driver

Michael SchaffnerAge

Division

Where

How many years

Function

Name

“My DAy starts in the distribution center in Däniken at 04.00 in the morning”, says Mi-chael Schaffner. “As soon as I check in, I start loading my truck. Half an hour later, I am on the road. From there on it it is me, my truck and my list. This gives me an undefina-ble feeling of freedom. This job is my dream job. Or rather, was. The increasing stress on the roads have taken a toll on my enthusi-asm. I experience peo-ple on the road to be in a hurry and not very tolerant. I haven’t had

one single accident in my ten years driving for Tobler. An accomplish-ment, considering the situation on the roads.”

Last year Tobler op-timized its distribu-tion network and as a result, the distributer now has one main DC, Däniken, where most truck drivers, including Michael, pick up their deliveries. “For me it is perfect: both the area I cater as well as my home are nearby” Mi-chael says. “Another advantage is the sheer size of the new DC. We now drive our trucks into the building, all the

way to the loading plat-form. Keeping our car-go dry.”

It’s not all good yet. “When introducing our new distribution net-work we promised cus-tomers that ‘part deliv-eries’ would be history. Meaning that when a customer orders ten radiators, we deliver them in one delivery. Not two on Monday, three on Tuesday and so on. It still happens and it frustrates the customer”.

With an average of 30 deliveries a day, Michael is talking to a wide variety of cus-

tomers. “A lot of them I have known for ten years. I feel I am an important ambassa-dor for Tobler. Custom-ers call in their orders by phone or send them by fax. They don’t see my colleagues in Sales. In many cases I am the face they see when dealing with Tobler.”

“We have a for Swit-zerland absolutely unique delivery prom-ise - order before six and get your delivery the next day. None of our competitors has the network to do so. Cus-tomers love us for it.”

Logistic Mercenariesmake deliveries go smooth

The

I am the face customers see

Resume


41WascoTwello3 YrsPlanner transportation

Berry GoossenAge

Division

Where

How many years

Function

Name

WAsCo has out-sourced all transporta-tion hiring a profession-al company to increase efficiency and manage costs. When doing so, Wasco agreed that the distribution company takes over the employ-ment of all truck driv-ers. Planning however, is in full control of two transportation plan-ners in Twello working in shifts. “This week I start at 1 PM and work until 10 PM”, Berry Goossen says. “Next week I swap with my colleague and work from 6 AM until 3 PM. Together we ensure that both our own dis-tribution hubs and our customers are efficient-ly catered.”

“We plan 40 routes - every day - includ-ing internal deliver-

ies where we use big trucks with a trailer. Including night deliver-ies to our 26 branch-es and 700 stops dai-ly”, Berry says. “Most of the routes we plan, are trucks delivering to

customers. These take a lot of plotting. Espe-cially in the larger cities as traffic here can be dense and unpredicta-ble. We have a system that allows us to track trucks driving for us. If we are aware of extra

ordinary traffic situa-tions, we can intervene in a route and save a lot of km’s as well as time.”

“Transportation is a significant cost. Bal-ancing the customers’

interest with planning cost efficient routes, is like fitting a giant jig-saw puzzle. Driving 30 additional kilometers to deliver a €8 item, is not exactly cost effi-cient”, Berry says. “But what do I do if the cus-

tomer needs the item today and I don’t have other errands in the area? I think we some-times promise a lot to not loose the sale with-out considering the costs involved to fulfill the order.”

In spite of the fact that the truck driv-ers are not employed by Wasco, there’s a strong feeling of joint effort to deliver excel-lent customer service. The drivers have their own cantina in the DC in Twello - on walking distance from where planning is done. “I am a regular visitor here”, Berry smiles. “Discuss-ing issues over a cup of coffee is always better than having to talk in the phone. It promotes mutual understanding and team spirit.”

Getting the pieces to fit

Transportation is a sig-nificant cost. Balancing the customers’ interest with plan-ning cost efficient routes, is like fitting a giant jigsaw puzzle.

Logistic Mercenariesmake deliveries go smooth

The


42CFMLuxembourg city8 yearsChief Operations Officer

Antonio BreggeAge

Division

Where

How many years

Function

Name

AnTonIo started in 2003, being responsi-ble for logistics in CFM. Today he is responsible for operations, includ-ing IT and inventory. “I consider it a gift to work here. If you count the amount of peo-ple (120), CFM is the smallest unit in CEE but that doesn’t make our challenges smaller.”

With one DC and two stores where cus-tomers order and pick up materials, smooth deliveries are para-mount for CFM. “Due to fierce competition prices are low. The bat-tle is won by offering better service. Mak-ing sure our customers get the material they need when they need it where they need it - is a decisive parameter”,

says Antonio. “We acknowledge

that we are not trans-portation experts and in 2008 we outsourced the delivery of small and medium sized items, which accounts for 70% of our distri-bution. That gave us a lot of flexibility and improved our ability to deliver upon our cus-tomer promise: ordered before five - delivered the next day”, Antonio says. “It has an addi-tional advantage. We can scale up if neces-sary without making large investments.”

The DC in Luxem-bourg operates five trucks for large and heavy items. “But all the other trucks carry our CFM logo as well”, says Antonio. He adds:

“It is important to cus-tomers that it is a CFM truck that delivers on site. The same goes for the drivers. When we sealed the deal with

in a competitive envi-ronment, small things make a difference. We for example introduced a text messaging ser-vice so the customer is

the transportation com-pany, one of the de-mands was that they would re hire our truck drivers. That way our customers still see the same people wearing perfect CFM uniforms.”

“If you’re working

notified on his mobile phone if he wants to know when he can ex-pect his delivery. Not rocket science but im-portant in the service perception of our cus-tomers.”

Better than yesterday, better than our competitors

Due to fierce competition prices are low. The battle is won by offering better service. Making sure our customers get the material they need is a decisive parameter.

Resume


ourTHE ProBLEM with so-lar power always was that it is an intermittent energy source. In other words, solar energy can be used but not stored. Once the sun goes down, its warmth and light goes with it. So we started using fossil alternatives like oil. But thanks to techno-logical advancement, we’re getting better at exploiting sunbeams. In fact, scien-tists are convinced that it is possible to meet all our en-ergy needs with this simple, renewable resource. Today less than 1% of our heat-ing, transportation and pow-er energy comes from direct sunlight. There’s a long way still to go.

is our natural resource

1 Energy collection: A solar collector

is mounted typically on your roof. As the sunlight passes through the col-lector’s plastic or glass, it strikes a metal or rubber absorbing material. This material converts the sunlight into long wave heat, and the glazing pre-vents the heat from es-caping like a greenhouse. It is like leaving a car parked in the sun with its windows rolled up. The temperature inside a glazed solar collector on your roof can easily reach 150°C when there is no heat transfer fluid flowing through it.

2Energy transfer: Heat energy is

transferred from the col-lector to the water stor-age tank. In some wa-ter heaters, hot fluid is pumped from the collec-tor to the storage tank.

3Energy storage: Solar-heated wa-

ter is stored in an insu-lated tank until you need it. Hot water is drawn off the tank when tap water is used, and cold make-up water enters at the bottom of the tank.

using sunbeams to heat up water:

sunHow to...


Converting solar power into electricity is somewhat more complicated. It can be done in two ways: 1) directly - using ‘photovoltaics’ (PV), or 2) indirectly - using ‘concentrated solar power’ (CSP).

using sunbeams to create electricity

photovoltaics (pV) is the process of converting light into electric cur-rent using the so called photoelec-tric effect. PV is mainly used by large power plants like in Montalto di Castro (Italy), Europe’s largest power station with 80.000 solar panels.

csp systems use lenses and/or mir-rors and tracking systems to focus a large area of sunlight into a small beam. Electrical power is produced when the concentrated light is con-verted to heat which drives a heat engine (usually a steam turbine) con-nected to an electrical power gen-erator.

WITH An average amount of 1700 sun hours a year, Switzerland at first glance might not

be the obvious choice to invest in solar en-ergy. The truth is, that also with lim-

ited sun hours, exploit-

ing sun beams is a good idea. Tobler has two solar collectors in their assort-ment: the Malaga 3.0 and the MalagaStar 1.0. Both will do an excel-lent job providing warm water and heating when and where needed but

the MalagaStar 1.0 uses a different methodology (serpentine) to drive the water through the collec-tor. This makes the 1.0 more powerful and as a result the water can be heated to a higher tem-perature.

solar power in Switzerland


How to...

Scientists are convinced that it is possible to meet all our energy needs with this simple, renewable resource

Continuedon page 23


Historically Northern Eu-ropeans, called Nord bo-erne (people from the north), were a mix of peas-ants, explorers, merchants and warriors with expan-sion ambitions. The vio-lent warriors you prob-ably know from history books but what is less well known is that Nord bo-erne, or vikings if you like, were cunning merchants.

They were good to exploit their trade competencies and make a profit. This tra-dition still lives in DT Group - and caught the attention of Wolseley management - making DT Group, Wolseley’s Nordic division, responsible for the management of CEE. Time for a short introduc-tion.

vikingsTheHelp!

have arrived

DT Group is the largest retailer and distributor of building materials in the

Nordic region. The Group includes seven business units they call divisions, stretching

over ten different countries (including Greenland). Each division is decentralized and has independent local management, administration and marketing. DT group

employs 7700 people catering to a customer base ranging from major contractors,

builders and consumers to distributors.

DT Group

DivisionFoundedCountry

BranchesEmployeesMain focus



STArK1896Denmark912,374Professional contractors and DIY builders

Silvan1968Denmark40899Do-It-Yourself customers



Neumann Bygg1859Norway15286Professional builders, contractors and small industrial enterprises

Norway

Denmark


*DT Group took over the responsibility for Woodcote in 2009,

putting its experience to make companies in smaller countries

profitable to use.

Division

FoundedCountry


Beijer Byggmaterial1866Sweden641,267Professional builders, contractors, small industrial enterprises as well as private consumers





Cheapy2002Sweden20139Do-It-Yourself customers

Woodcote*1992Poland, Check republic, Slovakia, rumania and Hungary35368Professionals, mainly interior specialists and installation contractors

vikingsThe name Viking (from the Nordic víkingr) refers to the Scandinavian

explorers, warriors, merchants, and pirates who raided, traded, explored

and settled in wide areas of Europe (and the North Atlantic islands) from the late

8th to the mid-11th century.



Starkki1868Finland221,053Professional builders, contractors and con-struction companies, as well as private cus-tomers and DIY builders

Norway

Denmark

Sweden

Finland

Check Republic

Poland

Slovakia

HungaryRomania

We are family


2010

B

E S T I D E ATHrEE MonTHs of spare time research lead to a range of stunning findings. Not all boxes, Kim found, are fit for re-using. “But 95% are. Only few boxes are damaged because of handling and those we of course throw out. I calculated that reus-ing the good boxes would save Wasco €35.000 a year. That is the equiva-lent of 25% of what we spend on packaging.”

In some cases, the box even eliminated a signifi-cant part of earnings. “If you need to transport a bracket for a radiator, you need to put it in a big box - costs €0,85. The retail price for this bracket is €8, our margin is around €1,50. Reusing the pack-aging, increases the mar-gin for what we earn.”

Returning the boxes where needed, is a cost neutral activity. “Wheth-

er our trucks return with empty containers in Rot-terdam and Twello, or with containers filled with boxes, makes no differ-ence”, Kim explains. “And it’s no extra work for us either. We remove the content labels from the box so they are clean and neutral. Instead of putting them in a waste bin, we put the empty boxes in trolley that we have to fit into the empty containers

any way.”“We’ve been doing this

in Eindhoven since Au-gust 2010 and now oth-er units are considering it as well. For me this is a question of using your common sense. Throw-ing out material that still functions is throwing out money of the window. On top of that, we’re contrib-uting to the environment by recycling our own pa-per boxes.”

recycling boxes to save money and environment Eindhoven based sales person Kim van Kemenade was fed up with disposing perfectly functioning paper boxes. “In Eindhoven, which is a relatively small unit, we throw out hundreds of boxes every month. Boxes with no flaws whatsoever as they are used only once.”

Kim’s idea was awarded best idea in the ‘Wasco’s best idea’ com-petition 2010. In all 25 ideas entered the competition but Kim’s idea won because of it’s simplicity and feasibility. Except for a Wasco’s best idea trophy, Kim was handed a cheque of €500.

Best idea 2010

Ideas@work

is Fittings’ non exclusive white board where we share

ideas from all the divisions - also the Nordics. The quality

of the idea is not dependent on whether your office is the

board room or the cabin of a truck. Neither does the idea

have to have rocket science potential. On the contrary, we

love sticky, applicable ideas that easily can be copied by

others.

operation blow the box

Wascorecycle paper boxesYearly estimated savings: €35.000, contribution to the environment

Project file:

Division:Idea:

Result:


To GroW this num-ber even more, Stephan Stöckli, regional man-ager in Oberentfelden, visits customers and get them up and running us-ing the on line shop. “As a part of our E-shop, we have a program that al-lows our customers to scan the barcodes on the products they want to or-der. My people visit them and help them setting up the solution for them. Not because it is compli-cated. But you know how it is, you get these instal-lation packages and they can clutter your desk for weeks, even months until you pull yourself togeth-

er. When we install the package for them, they are up and running right away and start ordering.”

“That in itself of course is an important reason for doing this”, Stephan explains. “But there’s more to it. Tobler is not the only retailer of-fering an E-commerce

solution. Our competitors have similar solutions. I have this theory that once our customers have in-stalled our solution, they will be less open to do an extra effort to also install and learn another solu-tion as well.”

The results? A stun-ning 32% of the entire sales in this region is

coming from on-line pur-chases. “It doesn’t mean that customers no longer come to our marchés (as the stores in Switzerland are called). In fact, we have a great two hour de-livery service for custom-ers who order on-line but want to pick up the goods in our marché. Besides, the marché is where they get professional advice and a personal service”, says Stephan. “It replac-es phone calls from cus-tomers who call in their orders.” The phone can now be used in alterna-tive ways: an application that allows 7/24 mobile ordering is on its way.

Educating the customer is keyTobler Haustechnik AG has a successful e-commerce setup. The company started putting their inventory on the digital highway in 2001. Customers increasingly visit the on line shop and they are getting used to swipe their credit cards here. E-commerce today con-tributes with 24% in the total sales of Tobler Haustechnik AG.

Ideas @ work

operation foot in the doorTobler Haustechnik AGInstall E-commerce solution for customers

On-line purchasing sky rockets

Project file:

Division:Idea:

Result:


Have you got an idea?

Do you know of a great idea? Tip us at

[email protected] and get your idea up

the white board to share with your colleagues.

There are two conditions: we only publish ideas

that are 1) implemented and 2) working.

THE HIGHLy motivat-ed team came up with loads of ideas. One idea though, was so simple and appealing, that it had to be tried out. “The av-erage sale per customer was € 37. We calculat-ed that we actually only had to add €1,48 to each sale to achieve the same result as the year before”, Minna tells. “From there on, we developed ideas to support up- and cross sales. A good way to sell

more to existing custom-ers is to get insights in the projects that they are working on. By increasing the sale, you are actual-ly doing them a favor as they leave the store with all the supplies they need to finish their project.”

It took the team in Kuopio less then five months to show results. “And what results”, Min-na says proudly. “We managed to increase the average sale per custom-

er from €37 to €48, a 30% increase. Actually six times what we set out to do which was increase the value with €1,48.”

€1,48 makes all the differenceStore manager Minna Tilles responsible for the DIY section in Kuopio, together with her team faced a tough challenge in the beginning of 2010. “The amount of customers due to the results of the financial crisis was decreasing - as did our sales. Since this ultimately could have consequences for our staff, we asked them to come up with ideas on how to turn this crisis.”

Starkki is the second largest dis-tributor of building materials in

Finland - catering to both profes-sional builders, contractors and construction companies, as well as private customers and DIY builders. Starkki has 22 stores

and 1053 employees.

starkki

Ideas @ work

Operation blazing gunsStarkkiAdd €1,48 to each sale

30% sales increase

Project file:

Division:Idea:

Result:


WAsCo in 2000 es-tablished a spectacular showroom for sustaina-ble energy where suppli-ers demonstrate their lat-

est and newest available products within sustain-able energy. WEC is the perfect place for installers to get the ins and outs on

the latest products within sustainable energy - both to get inspired by and trained in the latest tech-nology but certainly also

to get hands on support with existing projects re-garding heating.

ÖAG has nine Heat-ing Competence Cent-ers, spread over the country, where custom-ers can get help choosing the right products, draw-ing up complete plans of heating and cooling sys-tems based on tradition-al or alternative energy sources for their project. Additionally, since these centers are placed locally, they can advise on finan-cial funding in the spe-

cific area. As each area has their own financial support schemes for cer-tain types of solar panels, photovoltaic, heat pumps etc. customers appreciate ÖAG’s expertise here. As a result, ÖAG has outper-formed the market over the last year – by 10%. ÖAG has its own brand of solar & photovoltaic pan-els. This ensures better margins.

Wasco Energy Center in Twello

solar power in Austria


ÖAG

Tobler

Wasco

CFM

Total heat generation as percentage of the entire product mix

Half of everything we sell in CEE (€450 million), is heat related. Heat generation accounts for one third (€150 million) of this. Most of what we sell today is still related to traditional boilers. Renewable energy though, is a growing area.

Wasco Energy Center

Continuedfrom page 17

10%

10%

35%

2%


you

mu

st p

ay t

ax o

n t

he

priz

e

1 What percent-age of Toblers’ customers pur-chases on-line?

A 15% B 19% C 24%

2 How many branches do Tobler, oÄG, Wasco and CFM have together?

A 91 B 116 C 143

3 In what year was Wasco founded and what anniversary does oÄG celebrate this year?

A 1980, 100 B 1970, 100 C 1970, 140

4 What was the original name ÖAG had when it got established in 1871?

A Armaturen- und Maschinenfabrik

B Österreichis-chen Armaturen Ges.m.b.H.

C VAMAG - Verein-igte Armaturen- und Maschinenfab-riken AG

5 How much money (est.) can Wasco save by re-cycling pa-per boxes?

A €10.000 B €25.000 C €35.000

soME sAy it’s a small computer. Others refer to it as the big phone (even though you cannot use the device to call anyone unless you

use Skype). Truth is, users have not quite nailed yet in what category the iPad actually belongs. That however, has not stopped this

gadget from growing tremendously popular - as it is probably the most wanted gadget of the moment. Answer a few questions and

get a shot at winning this fantastic gadget.

How well are you informed of what is going

on in CEE? Take the test, answer the questions

below and win an iPad.

Use the coupon below or send your answers by e-mail to: [email protected]

Friday June 10th 2011

Name:

Address:

Zip and City:

Country:

Phone:

E-mail:

Employed at:

1:2:3:4:5:

A B C send this coupon to:

DT GroupAtt.: Charlotte Gullach BüttrichGladsaxe Møllevej 52860 Søborg (Denmark)

iPad32 GB with Wifi + 3G

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