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MAN Truck will take 42 stop days ih H1'09

Filed Under: PKC Group, Transportation by pietrox — Leave a comment
20/01/2009

German industrial conglomerate MAN AG <MANG.DE> will stop production of trucks at its German plants for 42 days during the first half of the year due to the economic downturn, it said on Monday.

Employee representatives and local authorities had agreed to shorter worker hours at the plants in Munich, Nuremberg and Salzgitter, a MAN spokesman told Reuters.

Around 9,400 employees will be affected by the measures. The spokesman said he could not rule out further short working hours in the second half of the year. MAN had said in December output at its core trucks business could drop 30 percent in 2009 and it would halt truck production for 40 to 50 days.

Shares in MAN reversed gains to trade down 0.4 percent at 33.37 euros by 1447 GMT.  Shares had risen as high as 35.25 euros, following a mandatory bid from Porsche

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Tiimari vaihtaa toimitusjohtajaa

Filed Under: Tiimari by pietrox — Leave a comment
19/01/2009

Yhtiön hallitus on tänään nimittänyt Tiimarin uudeksi toimitusjohtajaksi
kauppatieteen maisteri Hannu Krookin (44), joka ottaa vastaan toimitusjohtajan
tehtävät arviolta 7.4.2009.

Hannu Krook siirtyy toimitusjohtajan tehtäviin Oy Otto Brandt Ab:n
varatoimitusjohtajan tehtävistä. Hän on toiminut aiemmin myös mm. Sonera Zed
Oy:n, Sonera Plaza Oy:n ja. Coca-Cola Juomat Oy:n toimitusjohtajana.

Vuodesta 2004 lähtien Tiimarin toimitusjohtajana toiminut Kristina Illi jättää
tehtävänsä yhtiön varsinaisen yhtiökokouksen yhteydessä siirtyäkseen kohti uusia
haasteita.

Tiimarin henkilökunnan ja hallituksen puolesta haluan kiittää Kristinaa hänen
merkittävästä panoksestaan Tiimarin rakentamisessa yli 300 kaupan
pörssinoteeratuksi vähittäiskauppa-ketjuksi kahdeksassa maassa. Toivotan hänelle
onnea ja menestystä uusiin tuleviin haasteisiin., sanoo Peter Seligson

Tiimarin konsepti on kehittynyt kovasti ja kansainvälistynyt 5 vuoden aikana.
Olen ylpeä ja kiitollinen Tiimarin henkilökunnan sitoutumisesta ja hyvästä
yhteistyöstä. Olen nauttinut jokaisesta hetkestä ja iloinen mahdollisuudesta
työskennellä tiimarilaisten kanssa. Ympäristö on tänään vaativa ja
vähittäiskauppa haastavassa tilanteessa. Tiimarin konsepti on taas osoittanut
vahvuutensa menestymällä joulukaupassa erinomaisesti verrattuna kaupan yleisiin
myyntilukuihin. Olen myös hyvin luottavainen sen tulevaisuudesta., kommentoi
Kristina Illi

Tiimari Oyj Abp

Peter Seligson, hallituksen puheenjohtaja
peter.seligson@seligson.fi, puhelin 09-6817 8201

Kristina Illi, toimitusjohtaja
kristina.illi@tiimari.fi, puhelin 0400-408889

——————————————–
STT:n juttu

Kauppaketju Tiimarin toimitusjohtaja vaihtuu. Vuodesta 2004 yhtiötä luotsanneen Kristiina Illin seuraajaksi on nimitetty Hannu Krook, 44, joka aloittaa tehtävässä huhtikuun alkupuolella.
Krook siirtyy Tiimariin Otto Brandt -yhtiön varatoimitusjohtajan paikalta. Hän on toiminut aiemmin myös muun muassa Sonera Zedin, Sonera Plazan ja Coca-Cola Juomat Oy:n toimitusjohtajana.
Illin kaudella Tiimari laajeni nopeasti ja listautui pörssiin. Tiimarin tiedotteen mukaan hän suuntaa nyt “kohti uusia haasteita”.
– Määrättyjä suunnitelmia on olemassa, mutta ei vielä mitään lukkoon lyötyä, Illi sanoi STT:lle. Hän kertoi myös sitoutuneensa jatkamaan Tiimarin uuden toimitusjohtajan perehdytystä vielä lokakuulle.
Illi on ennen Tiimaria työskennellyt muun muassa valtion hankintayhtiö Hanselin johdossa.

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Metso adjusts its Finnish operations in response to the weakened demand in the pulp and paper industry

Filed Under: Engineering, Forest, Pöyry by pietrox — Leave a comment
19/01/2009

Metso Corporation’s company release, January 19, 2009, 11:00 a.m. local time
A press conference (in Finnish) for media will be held today, Monday, January 19, 2009, 1:00 p.m. at Metso’s Corporate Head Office, Fabianinkatu 9 A, Helsinki. A conference call (in English) for analysts will be held at 2:00 p.m. Instructions for participating in the conference call are included at the end of this press release.

Metso will start personnel negotiations regarding employee reductions in Finnish units serving the paper industry. The employee reduction is estimated to affect a total of 900-1,200 employees. Approximately 4,700 employees work in the units subject to the personnel negotiations. The possible reduction in the number of units and the consolidation of operations into bigger units will be examined as part of the negotiations.

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MAN stops German truck plant output for 42 days

Filed Under: PKC Group, Transportation by pietrox — Leave a comment
19/01/2009

MUNICH, Jan 19 (Reuters) – German industrial conglomerate MAN AG <MANG.DE> will stop production of trucks at its German plants for 42 days during the first half of the year due to the economic downturn, it said on Monday.

Employee representatives and local authorities had agreed to shorter worker hours at the plants in Munich, Nuremberg and Salzgitter, a MAN spokesman told Reuters.

Around 9,400 employees will be affected by the measures. The spokesman said he could not rule out further short working hours in the second half of the year.

MAN had said in December output at its core trucks business could drop 30 percent in 2009 and it would halt truck production for 40 to 50 days. Shares in MAN reversed gains to trade down 0.4 percent at 33.37 euros by 1447 GMT.  Shares had risen as high as 35.25 euros, following a mandatory bid from Porsche

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Albany moves ahead with expansion plan in Brazil but at slower pace

Filed Under: Tamfelt by pietrox — Leave a comment
19/01/2009

SAO PAULO, Jan. 19, 2009 (RISI) – Following recent pulp and paper industry postponements of some investment projects, Albany International is recalculating the timeline of its expansion plan at its Indaial plant, in Santa Catarina state, Brazil.

Albany, which manufactures paper machine clothing and process belts and supplies the South American industry, is investing to raise Indaial’s current capacity by 80% for completion in 2011. The first phase of the expansion project includes the installation of new weaving looms and needler looms as well as the expansion of the industrial building area by 30%, according to Elidio Frias, Albany International Brazil’s marketing director.

The project’s second phase, which is scheduled to be ready in 2011, includes the installation of new equipment for clothing and belts manufacturing. “The chronology of the first phase is confirmed as we have demand from South American pulp and tissue producers which will start up projects this year,” Frias said. “The second phase, though, will follow the pulp and paper projects’ new schedule in the region,” Frias added.

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First Warsaw-listed firm files for bankruptcy on FX options

Filed Under: Componenta by pietrox — Leave a comment
16/01/2009

WARSAW, Jan 16 Reuters – Polish foundry maker Odlewnie Polskie ODPL.WA said on Friday it was filing for bankruptcy, becoming the first Warsaw-listed company to face bankruptcy because of currency options. In a statement Odlewnie said the filing was due to: “banking valuations resulting from the currency option deals which caused the value of our liabilities… to top the value of the company’s assets”.

Last summer the Polish currency soared to a record high against the euro and many Polish companies took out hedging contracts, effectively betting on further zloty appreciation. As the currency weakened many of them found themselves with losses which some analysts said could be huge. “The state of insolvency arose due to extraordinary circumstances caused by a rapid and unpredictable strengthening of the euro versus the zloty and by the speculative character of the currency options agreements offered by banks,”  the statement said.”In theory, those agreements were supposed to secure the company from changes of the zloty versus other currencies and in fact they exposed the company to a big risk,” it said.

Last month the Polish financial watchdog estimated local banks may need to take out as much as $284 million in provisions to account for client losses on currency options, which account for 155 million zlotys $49.33 million among Warsaw-listed companies.Analysts cautioned, however, that the figure could grow as the zloty continues to weaken. The Polish currency is down almost 8 percent since the beginning of December and has shed more than 30 percent since the end of July.

via First Warsaw-listed firm files for bankruptcy on FX options | Industries | Industrials, Materials & Utilities | Reuters.

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PKC group prepares for heavy drop in volumes

Filed Under: PKC Group, Transportation by pietrox — Leave a comment
16/01/2009

PKC Group announced on Friday that it had finalised the co-determination negotiations in its unit in Raahe for temporary lay-offs due to decreased demand of industrial electronics devices. As a result of the negotiations PKC Electronics shall lay-off 60 persons for a maximum of three months.

PKC Group finalized also the co-determination negotiations for temporary lay-offs of Kempele unit’s personnel on Friday. Negotiations were started due to decreased demand of wiring harnesses.

Lay-offs concern almost all PKC Group Oyj’s personnel in Kempele, about 250 persons. Lay-offs shall commence gradually and their duration will vary from function to function from one week to longer periods of time. Current plan is that the lay-offs last for a maximum of 14 weeks by the end of June, after which they may be prolonged if need be. Lay-offs will begin earliest in the beginning of February. (Stock Exchange release, during trade)

Raahe employs roughly 300 workers and thus temporary lay-offs account for 20% of work force.

If the Kempele lay-offs would last the maximum of 14 weeks for productional staff, the drop from 2008 figures equals roughly 50% in H1’09 and thus, the company is preparing for heavy drop in wiring harness business.

Electronics division: Nokia is a major customer for PKC Group, and presumably its expenditure cuts were the main reason for surprisingly drastic layoffs.

Harri Suutari cut also his own salary by 1/3 as a sympathy gesture.

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Yli sata jo irtisanottu suunnittelualalla

Filed Under: Engineering, Pöyry by pietrox — Leave a comment
16/01/2009

Lama niittää väkeä suunnittelualalla. Tammikuun puolessa välissä irtisanottuja ylempiä toimihenkilöitä oli jo noin sata ja lomautettuja lähes 300.

Lukuisissa alan yrityksissä käydään parhaillaan yt-neuvotteluja, jotka koskevat noin 1 200 alan palkansaajaa. He ovat suurimmaksi osaksi ylempiä toimihenkilöitä.

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Beverage outlook weakens in the Baltic countries

Filed Under: Consumer, Olvi by pietrox — Leave a comment
16/01/2009

The Estonian beverage house Saku Olletehas said on Thursday it will cut 16 jobs and apply part-time work and partially paid leave in its production department from Jan. 26 to March 31.

“We believe that these changes in the organization will allow Saku to better adapt itself to the changing market situation, which is affected mainly by the economic decline and the increase in excise duty in Estonia,” Saku’s CEO Veli Pekka Tennila said. Tennila added that five former employees of Saku have taken up jobs with the company’s help with PowerWave AS, a cooperation partner of Saku. Carlsberg, the owner of Saku Olletehas, announced on Thursday that it will lay off at least 270 employees in Denmark, Norway and the Baltic states in the course of restructuring.’

Carlsberg said that in the Baltic countries it was responding to decreased sales figures with a sped-up restructuring plan, as a result of which the number of employees will be reduced by 124 in addition to the 80 cuts announced in October. The layoffs will take place during the first quarter of the year. (Reuters)

It seems that beverages are more exposed to worse economic conditions as one might think. We expect also Olvi’s profitability to be affected (sales mix to worsen). So far A Le Coq’s beer volumes have been increasing, even though the aggregate sales have been declining
in Estonia.

*Negative news for Olvi

More info: Carlsberg’s announcement

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Tiimari’s sales inline with estimates in 2008

Filed Under: Consumer, Tiimari by pietrox — Leave a comment
15/01/2009

Tiimari Group’s sales were 15.9 million euro in December 2008 up by 3 per cent on the corresponding month previous year. The whole year 2008 sales were 85.0 million euro up by 14 per cent.
Tiimari’s investments in the new market areas resulted in sales increase in Sweden, Poland, Russia and Lithuania. Gallerix sales are consolidated in 2007 figures for November and December only due to the acquisition in 2007. The Tiimore business has been reorganized and realigned during the year 2008. The sales information may change when the final annual closing is done. (Stock Exchange release, during trade)

Our estimate for FY08 sales were EUR 86.3m and thus Tiimari’s figures did not provide surprises and focus is now in profitability in the Q4’08 report. We expect significant profit improvement from last year and the whole year’s result would still be in the red. Our recommendation sustains.
*Neutral news for Tiimari

Source: stock exchange release

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