Germany's Treofan Group, a biaxially-oriented polypropylene film maker, has announced that it saw stable profits in 2013 compared with 2012.
Treofan, based in Raunheim, Germany, reported that it saw an annual turnover for 2013 of approximately 500 million euros ($694.5 million), but the company would not disclose an exact figure. The company says the sales indicate that it held its ground during a difficult fiscal year.
Treofan says that it plans to invest 50 million euros ($69.4 million), putting 5 million euros ($6.9 million) into research and development, 15 million euros ($20.8 million) into upgrades of existing assets, and 30 million euros ($41.6 million) into a new production line in Neunkirchen, Germany, allowing the company to grow in its premium market segments.
The company warns that the market remains challenging for 2014.
“We continue to see a strong increase in capacities, along with a general lack of investment discipline in our industry. The development of raw material prices and, in particular, of the cost of energy in Germany — where we have our largest production site — remain uncertain. With regard to the latter, I can really only warn against Germany further jeopardizing its competitiveness as a manufacturing location,” said Treofan CEO Peter Vanacker.
Treofan states that it currently employs around 1,100 people, operates four production sites in Germany, Italy, and Mexico, and sells its products in more than 90 global markets.