HOWDEN STRATEGY
Howden's strategic objective is to generate significant growth in revenue and profit over the next five years through building upon its current world-leading position as an applications engineer which designs, manufactures, installs and maintains performance critical components for air and gas handling.
In pursuit of this objective, Howden will pursue the following initiatives:
- Howden will maintain and enhance its position in all those regions where there is expected to be significant new build of coal-fired generating capacity and emission control equipment; Howden already has strong market positions in Europe, China, North America and South Africa, and will look to build its presence in India, Russia and South America;
- Howden will develop further its position in the oil and gas and petrochemicals industries, in particular through enhancing its position in the compressor industry which it will do through an increased range of products and exploitation of market niches;
- Howden will look to enhance its presence in other industries where its technology and expertise can be used to advantage; these include bio-fuels and waste-water treatment;
- Howden will continue to develop its aftermarket business, in particular in China, with the objective of consistently generating one-third of its annual revenue through aftermarket sales; and
- Howden will consider growing the business through acquisitions that will strengthen its market position and improve its technology base.
To achieve this uplift in revenue will require continued development of Howden's supply chain which will be achieved through increased plant utilisation, moderate amounts of targeted capital expenditure on plant expansion and IT, continued initiatives to ensure that Howden has access to sufficient trained engineers, and continued use of Lean techniques across all aspects of its business. A critical part of Howden's supply chain is its global network of sub-contractors which Howden will continue to monitor and develop.