UAE-based bathroom manufacturer strengthens its position in Europe

UAE-based bathroom manufacturer RAK Ceramics has acquired its British subsidiary RAK Ceramics UK and its German entity RAK Germany, for an undisclosed sum.

As part of this development, RAK Ceramics has announced the appointment of a revised leadership team to head its European operations and support the company’s growth within “high value markets”.

Former joint managing director of RAK UK, Alvin Biggs has now been appointed as managing director for RAK UK, while Math Rietrae has been appointed general manager of RAK Ceramics Central Europe division, based in Germany. Soren Hougaard has been appointed as general manager of RAK Ceramics North Europe division, based in Denmark.

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It will see RAK Ceramics continue to commit to its Value Creation Plan, which primarily focuses on investing in core businesses.

The company recently opened a second depot in the UK “to accomodate for rising sales volumes and demand for next day delivery.”

RAK Ceramics exports around 70% of its output, most of which is dispatched to markets in Europe and Saudi Arabia.

At the end of Q3 2015, the total net sales from Europe for tiles and sanitaryware reached AED 248million.

Group chief executive officer at RAK Ceramics Abdallah Massaad said: “We are excited to have strengthened our presence in the UK and Europe. These recent acquisitions and new management appointments reflect the success of our refocused strategy and continued execution of the Value Creation Plan endorsed by the Board of Directors in 2014.

“We are confident in our ability to enhance margins in the long-run and become a strong global competitor, strengthening our position within the ceramics industry around the world.”

RAK Ceramics has an annual production capacity of 110sqm of tiles, 5million pieces of sanitaryware, 24million pieces of tableware and 600,000 taps.