SMT Scharf steps up its South American sales
Hamm, February 27, 2017 – With the founding of a sales company in Chile, SMT Scharf AG (WKN 575198, ISIN DE0005751986) is moving even closer to South American customers in the non-coal mining segment. The company’s registration and launch will complete in March 2017.
Hans Joachim Theiss, CEO of SMT Scharf AG, comments: “We’re distinguished by the fact that we have strong sales teams directly in our target markets and are in regular contact with our customers locally. We accompany our customers with innovative ideas across the entire product lifecycle. From our own sales hub in Chile, we will now be even better able to leverage the potential South American hard rock mining offers, such as in copper mines. With special machines for block cave mining, we also see follow-up potential with existing customers that we can now address even better than before.”
Marketing in South America has occurred through a sales partner to date. By repositioning its sales organisation, SMT Scharf is also transferring its localisation principle – which has proved itself in other mining regions – to the South American market, which offers major future sales potential, especially in metals mining. SMT Scharf’s organic growth is to be driven through tapping further geographic markets. The other pillars of the growth strategy include external growth such as the sales partnership in tunnel construction with Mühlhäuser, as well as boosting operative excellence, including through intensifying international collaboration within the SMT Scharf Group, for example. SMT Scharf aims to acquire a position of strength through measures in these three strategic areas to participate to an above-average extent from the mining upturn while at the same time becoming less susceptible to the cyclicality of the mining equipment business.
“We know our markets very well and we have many years’ experience with the local sales and after-sales business. We see an opportunity to make use of this core competency in the future via sales partnerships with third parties, or as part of further new joint ventures,” adds Theiss.
Company profile
The SMT Scharf Group develops, manufactures and services transportation and infrastructure equipment for underground mining and tunnel construction. The main products are captivated railway systems that are deployed all over the world, primarily in hard coal mines, but also in mines for gold, platinum and other metals. They are needed to transport material and personnel with payloads of up to 45 tons and on gradients of up to 30 degrees. In addition, the Group supplies the mining sector with chairlifts. The SMT Scharf Group is active with subsidiaries in six countries, as well as commercial agencies worldwide. SMT Scharf generates a large share of its revenue in growing foreign markets such as China, Russia, Poland and South Africa. SMT Scharf AG has been listed in the Prime Standard (Regulated Market) of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange since April 11, 2007.
Contact
Investor Relations
cometis AG
Henryk Deter / Maximilian Breuer
Tel: +49(0)611 – 205855-22
Fax: +49(0)611 – 205855-66
Email: breuer@cometis.de
27.02.2017 Dissemination of a Corporate News, transmitted by DGAP – a service of EQS Group AG.
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
The DGAP Distribution Services include Regulatory Announcements, Financial/Corporate News and Press Releases.
Archive at www.dgap.de