Internet sales of home improvement products are on the up and up. A recent market study by Suberg Strategy Consultants of Munich indicates that on-line sales of home improvement products will rise from their present five percent to around 20 percent by 2020, and concludes that this must result in a massive reduction in the provision of unprofitable retail floor space. read more…
The second European Home Improvement Forum takes place at the ‘Newport Bay’ Disney Convention Centre in Paris on 31 May to 1 June. By early May there were 430 registrations by suppliers and retailers from 29 countries.
The Forum is organised by two European trade associations, fediyma (the European Federation of DIY Manufacturers) and EDRA (European DIY-Retail Association). This year’s forum motto will be: ‘From DIY to Home & Garden Improvement’. Representatives of leading European DIY businesses will discuss the latest technical developments now driving market change. read more…
When a white ship approaches over the horizon anywhere on the globe, enormous smiling red lips painted around the bow immediately identify it as one of eight AIDA cruise ships. On board are more than a thousand equally smiling passengers. And so that the smiles continue both night and day, the shipbuilder Meyer-Werft of Papenburg in North Germany entrusted Hymer-Leichmetallbau with the construction of lightweight metal bed frames for the passenger cabins. read more…
News from Landau in Germany: The Einhell Group has acquired kwb tools. The Einhell Group is known principally for its business is as an importer of electrically powered tools and DIY machinery, while kwb tools is an international trading and service organisation based at Stuhr near Bremen. It is one of Europe’s leading system suppliers of tools and accessories for electrical tools, selling in particular to building suppliers and DIY stores. read more…
In the first quarter of 2012 revenue by hagebau - an association of independent small and medium sized companies trading in building materials, timber and tiles and based in Soltau, Germany – was up by an impressive 19.7 percent to 1.3 billion Euros. There were considerable regional and company differences in the sales trends. The highest increase in merchandise turnover was recorded by the Austrian associates (36.7 percent), Luxembourg (29.2 percent) and Switzerland (28 percent). In Germany, merchandise turnover was up by 14.9 percent. read more…
Star Trek was yesterday’s entertainment, and pure fiction to boot. But Planetary Resources is a business here and now, and the new company’s project could soon become a tangible reality. In an era of spiralling costs for raw materials, the American company is now planning to harvest rare earth metals from asteroids using robotic spaceships. Their eyes are on valuable minerals and metals such as platinum, iron, nickel and sulphur – all of which are of considerable interest to the tool manufacturing industries and others. Some asteroids are also believed to contain water. Tuesday last week the company founder Peter Diamandis gave a detailed description of the project, which plans to make the first prospecting flights into space within two years and determine which near-earth asteroids hold out promise of a commercial yield. read more…
From Sunday 29 April the Hornbach home improvement store chain will be broadcasting a new TV advertising spot. Going under the name Symphony, the spot is an extension of the existing highly successful Keiner spürt es so wie Du campaign (‘Nobody experiences it like you’). The spot consists of a sequence of DIY tasks, each bearing a considerable resemblance to music making, and the emotions they arouse in the carpenter, painter, masonry drill operator and so on. read more…
August Rüggeberg GmbH & Co. KG – the Pferd Tools Group – has appointed two additional senior managers with effect from 17 April 1: Stefan Braun, who since 2008 has led the sales for Pferd tools, becomes head of sales, distribution and marketing; Stefan Kroll, who since 2010 has been head of finance, controlling and IT, becomes head of finance and information technology. They join Jörn Bielenberg, head of technology and development, who becomes the Group spokesman. This restructuring follows the resignation of chief executive Jim Rüggeberg and will promote the Group’s development plans. In a press release, the corporation regretted Jim Rüggenberg’s decision and thanked him for his many years of successful work.
The IWU Fraunhofer Institute for machine tools and metalworking has good reason to celebrate: a new type of adaptronic honing tool for precision manufacture of petrol and diesel piston engines. The resulting fine tolerances reduce the consumption of fuel and oil, and unwanted environmental emissions. read more…
Will we soon see Tarzan and Jane swinging on vines between high-rise buildings? A dream from the Jungle Book? Not necessarily, if you live in Singapore. And this kind of sustainable architecture is now spreading green shoots through Europe, creating a great new opportunity for the tool industry. read more…
