Company Report: Fläkt Woods Group
Bringing air to life Neil Yule, European Sales Director - Systems, tells our reporter how Fläkt Woods is capitalising on its successes in a fast growing market

Fläkt Woods estimates that it delivers an air handling unit

We inhale a massive 20,000 litres of air each day

Air is something we often take for granted. But the proper ventilation of a company’s offices and factories is crucial. It requires high levels of ventilation expertise, to ensure the comfort of its workforce and the optimum maintenance of its operations.

To put the size of the issue into perspective, according to ventilation experts, Fläkt Woods Group, we consume 1 kg of food and drink 2litres of water each day, but we inhale a massive 20,000 litres of air.

Keeping clean air flowing throughout the world’s many different industries is a demanding job. Fläkt Woods estimates that it delivers an air handling unit in Europe, Asia or the U.S. every six minutes. The Group produces 150,000 fans every year, for building ventilation or fire safety purposes and it also delivers as many as three million air diffusers every year.

PAST AND FUTURE
Swedish fan manufacturer, Fläkt, merged with a UK fan manufacturer, Woods of Colchester, in 2002, to become Fläkt Woods. Its portfolio has extended substantially over the years, as has its geographical reach: it has a presence in 95 countries around the world and 3,000 employees.

The demand for its services translates into healthy turnover figures. Last year sales topped £680 million, although the forecast is due to be similar in the year ahead, due to global economic conditions.

However, Neil Yule, European Sales Director - Systems is confident that 2010 will deliver some very promising opportunities. “A key element of our strategy for 2010 focuses on making further inroads into the nuclear sector, where the build rate is expected to grow substantially over the next 10 years,” he says. “We already have a strong track record in this area and with a global team set up to target the sector; we are well placed to achieve our goals.”

Yule sees possibilities for new business in many different parts of the globe. “Our key market is Europe, as this is the most mature and substantial market; so we are targeting countries such as the UK, France and Finland; we are also looking further afield, to South Africa, India and the U.S. We are fortunate that we already have manufacturing plants in almost all of these areas.”

CHALLENGES, PROGRESS AND SUCCESS
Demand is already soaring. “We have supplied 15,000 centrifugal fans to a total of 27 nuclear plants - 13,000 of these fans were installed in France,” says Yule. “It is the biggest market because the nuclear industry there is more developed and it therefore has more plants.”

Supplying the nuclear industry is not an entirely straightforward process, however. “One of our biggest challenges is handling the timescales involved,” says Yule. “The projects tend to have a long gestation period, of up to eight to 10 years, simply because of the huge amount of certification that has to be processed and the number of approvals that have to be gained.”

And the investment is considerable. “Some of these projects are worth tens of millions of euros,” Yule confirms.

He sees both sides of the coin, though. “The positive aspect of the long timescales is that it gives us plenty of time to plan at a macro level. The downside is that delays in the approvals process can result in the suspension of projects at short notice.”

Timescales are not the only challenge; in other sectors, such as office construction, the recession has had a serious impact. “Other sectors however, such as education and healthcare, have remained strong,” says Yule. “If anything, investment in these areas has increased and we are seeing substantial growth.”

Yule believes Fläkt Woods has the right structure to maximise opportunities in growth areas. “We have developed a team of application specialists, who know their sector inside out. For instance, our healthcare team understands how a hospital operates. They also understand its logistics, how it is maintained and how it is funded.”

COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE
These are not the only secrets of Fläkt Woods’ success: “The Fläkt Woods brand is a big brand,” Yule emphasises. “We are rarely the cheapest, but we are recognised as either the best or as one of the best.

“One of our main competitive advantages is that we have the ability to provide complete solutions. We supply an integrated system, whereas most other companies are only able to offer some aspects of customers’ requirements.

“Providing a fully integrated system gives the customer peace of mind. It also makes it far easier to sort out any problems that may arise, if they have just one company to deal with.”

Fläkt Woods recognises the valuable contribution of the workforce to its success too. “We take great care to hire the right people,” stresses Yule. “In our line of work, we need very skilled engineers and when we recruit them, we nurture their abilities and help them develop their potential.

“We also run technical apprenticeship schemes, which over many years have helped us to generate good, home grown talent. Our current UK Engineering Director came through this route.”

Fläkt Woods recently further demonstrated its commitment to staff development, with a significant new investment. “We launched the Fläkt Woods Academy in January this year, to further develop our employees’ capabilities and broaden their skills,” Yule announces.

The Academy has an extensive curriculum. “We have 126 different training modules and 72 e- learning modules - the rest of the programme is classroom based.

“The studies available cover a wide range of topics, across a variety of levels, from basic introductory subjects, through to more in depth modules, such as product training, applications training and systems integration.”

With a strong emphasis on training and development, and growing demand for its services, Fläkt Woods plans for the future look set for success.

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