NEWS 5
LIXIL and GDWT-SA acquisition deal concluded to form LIXIL Africa
LIXIL Group Corporation , a global leader in the housing and building industry , has announced that its major subsidiary , LIXIL Corporation , will acquire all outstanding shares of Grohe Dawn Watertech Holdings Proprietary Limited ( GDWT ) from Distribution and Warehousing Network Limited ( DAWN ).
The announcement was made mid-September 2017 . LIXIL was the current controlling shareholder of GDWT with a 51 % stake . LIXIL will now obtain the remaining 49 % of ordinary shares in GDWT from DAWN , and GDWT will repay DAWN ’ s shareholder loan for an aggregate amount of R324.5-million . The closing of the transaction is subject to customary closing conditions and approvals .
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“ LIXIL is expanding the global footprint of its water technology business with this transaction ,” says Kinya Seto , LIXIL CEO and president . “ Full ownership of GDWT will strategically position us for growth in South Africa and the emerging markets of sub-Saharan Africa . This transaction also allows us greater flexibility in managing the brand portfolio and business strategy in this region . We have already seen steady progress in strengthening GDWT ’ s governance and operational efficiency , with strong support from HQ teams on financial management , supply chain and manufacturing , quality , marketing and other activities . Taking full control of the business will allow us to accelerate these activities and , ultimately , generate sustainable long-term performance and growth in this important region .” Following completion of the transaction , DAWN will remain a master distributor for GDWT . The GDWT corporate entity will be rebranded as LIXIL Africa , in line with the business ’ s vision to be the region ’ s leading water technology company by 2021 .
“ This is an exciting step forward for GDWT ,” says Henk Suelmann , CEO of GDWT . “ We are set to evolve to become a key part of the global LIXIL footprint via an integration process that will feature investment as well as strong support from Japan and other parts of the network . This will allow us to deliver high-quality service and worldclass products to our customers . We want to see everyone in Africa experience one of our brands , and we believe that as part of LIXIL , this now becomes a real possibility .”
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At the Krugersdorp factory , Henk Suelmann ( CEO of GDWT ) ( on left ) and Natie van der Westhuizen ( COO-Cobra ), showing the new machinery and improvements to the factory . The new red machine in Foundry is a IMR low-pressure diecast machine . Its main technological advantages include the deskilling of the casting process , the ability to produce highly complex casting designs , the quality |
STRATEGIC POSITIONING FOR GROWTH IN SA AND EMERGING MARKETS “ What this opens up for us on the sales and technical support side , is very meaningful in terms of innovation in our factories , which ultimately leads to innovation through our brands . What you will now see in our facilities is that there has already been a huge improvement in how we manufacture , our new processes ( through Kaizen and 5S methodologies ), as well as new machinery . This allows for a higher level of technical competence and better quality , which ultimately leads to better products . of casting integrity , and productivity improvements .
2 . The two blue machines in the machine shop are CNC machine centres . Main technological advantages : increased flexibility in a volume declining and bigger variety market , and improved quality and productivity .
Plumbing Africa spoke further with Henk Suelmann , to gain greater insight into what this deal means for the company and all the GDWT brands .
“ In terms of our primary role , it is much clearer now with LIXIL being the 100 % shareholder and with the new structure , we can act and think again as a manufacturer . Continued on page 7 >>
www . plumbingafrica . co . za November 2017 Volume 23 I Number 9