Annual report 2008 - Munters
Annual report 2008 - Munters
Annual report 2008 - Munters
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Business focus<br />
7<br />
Global trends increase demand<br />
By successively broadening its product offering, <strong>Munters</strong> has increasingly developed into a globally<br />
leading supplier of energy-efficient and environmentally friendly solutions for air treatment<br />
and damage restoration within selected market segments. The offering, based on expertise<br />
in technologies for humidity and climate control, is adapted to customer requirements, follows<br />
development and leverages global trends. Several of <strong>Munters</strong>’ products support sustainable<br />
development. The Group’s values should provide guidance in how business is conducted and<br />
permeate work within <strong>Munters</strong> and relations with the company’s stakeholders.<br />
Global trends increase demand<br />
Over the past decade, <strong>Munters</strong> has developed from a component<br />
supplier with its base in dehumidification and humidification<br />
to a globally leading supplier of environmentally<br />
friendly and energy-efficient solutions for air treatment and<br />
damage restoration based on its expertise in technologies for<br />
humidity and climate control. By continuously developing<br />
new, energy-efficient and environmentally friendly solutions<br />
while adapting the product and service offering to customer<br />
requirements, the Group is now well-positioned to take<br />
advantage of a number of global trends.<br />
Increased demand for energy-efficient<br />
and environmentally friendly solutions<br />
The long-term trend of increasing energy prices, together<br />
with a greater global environmental awareness and increasingly<br />
stricter regulations on emissions increase demand for<br />
energy-efficient and environmentally friendly products and<br />
production processes. Compared with alternative solutions,<br />
<strong>Munters</strong>’ technology often results in lower energy consumption<br />
and less resource waste. Several of the Group’s products<br />
are used to reduce emissions of hazardous substances, such<br />
as sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide that contribute to the<br />
greenhouse effect. <strong>Munters</strong>’ damage restoration services<br />
contribute to avoiding demolition and new construction by<br />
instead renovating and reusing damaged materials.<br />
Increased demands on indoor climate<br />
Increasingly high demands are being placed on indoor climates<br />
in both commercial and industrial premises. <strong>Munters</strong>’ lowenergy<br />
solutions for climate control allow customers to reduce<br />
resource consumption and environmental impact. Energy is<br />
often saved by making insulation denser and reducing ventilation.<br />
This often results in problems with mold, moisture and<br />
allergies. <strong>Munters</strong> can reduce these problems in two ways – by<br />
installing fixed aggregates that prevent problems from arising<br />
and enabling more energy-efficient ventilation or via the MCS<br />
service division, which can take care of environments that<br />
are already affected.<br />
Economic expansion in Asia<br />
The extensive economic expansion in Asia, primarily in China<br />
and India, has created a large population that to an increasing<br />
degree is able to adopt Western consumer patterns. This in<br />
turn leads to increased demands to improve indoor climates,<br />
which benefits products that employ <strong>Munters</strong>’ technology in<br />
the manufacturing process. The <strong>Munters</strong> strategy includes<br />
investment in growth in Asia, where China has become a<br />
production center for Asia.<br />
Consolidations and quality requirements<br />
within food production and distribution<br />
Consumption of meat in developing countries is increasing in<br />
pace with improvement in regional economies. This in turn<br />
leads to higher prices and a need for more rational production<br />
processes. As a result, a global consolidation and regulation<br />
of the farming and food industries is now in progress. This<br />
trend has resulted in increasing investment in equipment to<br />
increase productivity and improve hygiene. By regulating the<br />
humidity level in premises for food production and distribution,<br />
mold and bacteria growth are prevented, while shelf life<br />
and quality are improved. To ensure high production quality,<br />
production environments must be identical, regardless<br />
of the climate zone. This trend favors <strong>Munters</strong>, which has a<br />
strong brand and an organization that supports a strategy of<br />
being global, customer-focused and specialized. <strong>Munters</strong> has<br />
solutions for all levels in the food industry, from production<br />
and manufacturing via transports to warehousing and sales in<br />
stores. <strong>Munters</strong> climate control systems for animal breeding<br />
increase productivity and reduce the risk of disease.<br />
Consolidation within the insurance industry<br />
An extensive consolidation has been in progress in the<br />
insurance industry for a long time. Many insurance companies<br />
want to reduce their costs for claims adjustment and restoration<br />
by working with fewer national or international suppliers<br />
and partners that can take increasingly greater responsibility<br />
for administration relating to claims settlement. <strong>Munters</strong>’<br />
service division MCS is positioned to take advantage of this<br />
trend through its geographic coverage, long-term national or<br />
regional partnership agreements at fixed price levels and its<br />
ability to take increasingly greater responsibility for claims<br />
settlement and IT-based documentation.<br />
<strong>Munters</strong> <strong>Annual</strong> Report <strong>2008</strong>