A growing year 2021
“But it is above all a 20% increase in volume in France that should be noted, ie approximately 20 million linear meters produced in total in Thonon-les-Bains. » Jos Lenferink also specifies: « Our activity of extruder in the process is particularly automated and therefore directly dependent on the cost of raw materials. In our process, their proportion can represent 60%, or even more, of our turnover. This increase, which is very difficult to manage, has also had a strong impact on our customers and particularly those in the collective new build segment, who have to manage fixed price contracts concluded very often before the Covid period. However, the biggest challenge was to have enough raw material to produce and deliver to our customers. Done, and all of our customers have appreciated the reliability of VEKA and its teams, to whom I pay tribute for their involvement. With no extension of time for both standard and specific references, VEKA has demonstrated great reliability, essential for the success of our customers, manufacturers of excellent joinery. »
It should be remembered that the VEKA family group is not listed on the stock exchange and has a solid economic base, guaranteeing it considerable independence and a storage capacity above the industry average. This specificity, combined with access to raw material from end-of-life PVC joinery from VEKA Recyclage, has notably enabled it to manage its supplies and stocks perfectly.
"We did not pass on all of the increases, which impacted our margins", specifies Emmanuel Demesmay, Country Manager France. An impact somewhat offset by the acquisition of new major tricolor customers. “2021 also marked the successful start of new manufacturers in VEKA. This is for example the case of BIPA and WiBaie with the launch of their new Lum'Up range”.
Still on the figures side, VEKA recorded a very good performance on the Spanish market which depends on the same area, with an increase of more than 70% in its turnover last year. A significant increase induced here again by the acquisition of new customers, such as Ampuero, the No. 1 in windows in Spain and supplier of Leroy Merlin Spain.
Sustained investments in 2022 and the coming years
The development of its sales is also accompanied by significant industrial investments, both in France and in Spain (approximately 7 million euros, including 4,7 for France).
Thus, for France, VEKA plans to install two new extrusion lines this year (a duo line) giving the Thonon-les-Bains site a significantly increased production capacity. Two new nacelles / trolleys for picking will also expand the French industrial tool.
Better still, VEKA announces that it is looking for land (between 20 and 000 m²) for the creation of a new logistics center, between Thonon-les-Bains and Lyon. “This investment is valued at around 40 million euros,” specifies Jos Lenferink. “It aims to increase our storage capacity and optimize our level of service. »
And to conclude: "Ultimately, we foresee significant additional growth thanks to post-Covid opportunities, driven by European and national projects for energy efficiency and by the attractiveness of the VEKA brand, due to its stability and its reliability. In the years to come, we are thus planning significant additional investments, concerning our extrusion lines and our plating capacities (traditional and VEKA SPECTRAL)”.
On the Spanish side, we find this same logic of industrial development for ever more responsiveness and services. Thus, the production capacity was doubled in 2021 and investments are planned for 2022 with the installation of a new extrusion line (the 6th) and a new plating line (the 3rd) and by the acquisition of a new film cutting machine.
New signature, new vision
With the new brand signature, "Together, let's create better living spaces", VEKA declines its mission of societal commitment on several levels. The first is to offer the best living space to users of VEKA joinery, for both more comfort and more aesthetics. Thus, always improving performance to insulate against cold, heat and noise, to resist bad weather and climatic variations, while providing more natural light and comfort of use… motivate the VEKA technical teams in the foreground.
Performance does not exclude aesthetics. "The thinness of the profiles, their design, the colorization technologies, the large dimensions of the joinery... are among the strengths of our new products and future developments" specifies Virginie Heckel, Marketing Director. Emmanuel Demesmay concludes: “Differentiating ourselves, responding better to market expectations and upgrading PVC joinery are an integral part of our objectives”.
Another level of this credo "Together, let's create better living spaces": VEKA employees. The manufacturer has indeed embarked on a process to create an exemplary VEKA community with a better living environment for its employees. Implicitly, no racial or gender discrimination, perfect fairness and particular attention to well-being by anticipating professional risks in particular.
Thus, the VEKA Vital program is based on “living together”, physical activity, diet and health information. The intervention of an expert in ergonomics, outdoor sporting events, arrangements to facilitate teleworking, the setting up of help sessions to fight against addictions, yoga and sophrology classes... are some examples of initiatives implemented recently.
The third and final part of this triptych “Together, let's create better living spaces” is the environment; "the one you see through the window", as Jos Lenferink likes to recall. Indeed, for a slightly better world, VEKA joineries insulate, therefore fight against global warming, but also want to be citizens and responsible because they are recyclable.
For 30 years, VEKA has been a pioneer committed to a strong and sustainable environmental approach, including the choice of materials, the manufacturing process, the recycling of production scraps and end-of-life products, as well as the reintegration of regenerated material. in new profiles. VEKA thus stands out as a player truly committed to the circular economy.
Growth through innovation, both product and environmental
September 2022 will mark the start of the marketing of the new sliding VEKASLIDE Hi-5, whose preview presentation at the last Equipbaie and Artibat shows was a great success. Next May, the new VEKAVARANT MASTERBOX roller shutter box will also be available from shutter manufacturers, as well as the new VEKA 3.0 threshold at the end of the year.
But innovation also involves the environment, and in this regard, VEKA regularly anticipates and anticipates regulations. Today, the manufacturer has a Group average of 26% recycled material used in its profiles (vs. national average of 8% and objectives for the profession set at 20% by 2025). In 2022, VEKA is going even further with the VEKA REcycle solution. Virginie Heckel presents it as "a totally eco-responsible solution, developed for VEKA manufacturer customers who are committed to a closed-loop partnership environmental approach and avoiding the dumping or burying of joinery at the end of its life and waste production. This new line uses 100% “R-PVC” recycled material at the heart of its profiles and, overall, up to 70% recycled material in joinery”. A 100% recyclable line, of course, under DTA, compliant with RE 2020, REP 2022 and QB34, NF 126 and NF 220 certifications.
VEKASLIDE Hi-5: 5 major advantages for a new sliding concept that combines the benefits of a sliding system (2 leaves/2 rails) and impact joinery.
1. Comfort
With a frictionless sliding movement and an extremely low maneuvering effort, the movement of the VEKASLIDE Hi-5 leaves is particularly easy (up to 150 kg load per sash).
2. Performance
The VEKASLIDE Hi-5 is distinguished by leaves sliding on two frictionless rails and by tightness ensured by the compression of the impact seals. Two major innovations giving it AEV performance (A*4 E*8A V*A3) similar to that of the best PVC joinery. Claiming a UW thermal performance of 1,3 W/(m².K) in standard double glazing, the VEKASLIDE Hi-5 slider can also accept glazing up to 36 mm thick, for acoustic performance reaching 38 dB.
3. Design
The large dimensions and thinness of the VEKASLIDE Hi-5 profiles (54 mm in the central part) provide natural light and increased energy savings. The pull-out is also distinguished by its wide range of colors (nearly 50) which is complemented by the VEKA SPECTRAL finish, in one or two colors, a real guarantee of personalization and elegance.
4. Industrialization
With an industrialization identical to that of a traditional PVC window, VEKASLIDE Hi-5 is manufactured by welding the openings and the frames. The option of mechanical assembly of the frame is also possible to facilitate the installation of large dimensions on site.
5. Eco-design
Several VEKASLIDE Hi-5 profiles will be manufactured in coextrusion, thus integrating recycled material into their core. True to VEKA's environmental strategy, the new pull-out is also designed to be 100% recyclable.
The industrialization of the VEKASLIDE Hi-5 will begin in September 2022 and the next complementary developments will concern 4-leaf systems and pocket solutions.