Partnership between Villeroy & Boch and GranitiFiandre

Sep 06, 2003

05/09/03 - An alliance between giants. Villeroy & Boch has signed an agreement with GranitiFiandre granting the Italian firm the licence to produce its "new stone" collections.
Under the terms of the agreement, GranitiFiandre (controlled by the Iris Group) will manufacture products designed by Villeroy & Boch with guaranteed technical and aesthetic specifications. These products will be marketed by Villeroy & Boch worldwide through the Group's distribution and sales channels.

According to Wendelin von Boch, Chairman of Villeroy & Boch, and Romano Minozzi, majority shareholder of GranitiFiandre, the aim of the agreement is to establish a long-term partnership between the two companies, allowing GranitiFiandre to generate revenues of more than 2.5 million euro as early as 2003.
"The marble, granite and stone through-bodied porcelain tile collections are a key element in Villeroy & Boch's new strategic orientation," explained Dirk Lohmer, director of the German group's ceramic division. "For the new collections we could hardly fail to choose GranitiFiandre, a world leader in the porcelain tile sector."

Chairman Graziano Verdi commented: "GranitiFiandre is proud to have secured such a prestigious partnership agreement, which I am certain will allow both groups to achieve further growth. Following the completion of construction work and the start-up of our new factory in Germany, this agreement marks another important step forward in GranitiFiandre's overall growth programme in the world market."
The partnership is truly an alliance between giants in the ceramic sector.

GranitiFiandre is a world-leading manufacturer of large-format through-bodied porcelain tiles for the high market segment and in 2001 became the first new entry to be listed in the STAR segment of the Italian stock market.

The Villeroy & Boch Group is listed on the Frankfurt stock exchange and is the world leader in the up-market residential ceramic segment with a total turnover in excess of 970 million euro.