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Are you considering slowing expan-sion in Asia ?
A. J. - We are maintaining a determinedpolicy of growth throughout the world.There are some very good opportunitiesin Asia, but we will be more selectivein terms of customers and their financialsituations.
I believe however that the Asian crisis ispractically under control now, and thatits impact on the global economy willbe less brutal than feared.
Capital spending1995-1997:
FRF 4 billion
Atdca:r7o
During the last three years theGroup committed z3 billion francs tocapital spending. Will you puruethis level of investment?A. J. - Most of these investments are
directly linked to long-term contractswith customers, and we are in no posi-
tion to decide just how Exxon or Dow
Chemical will invest in the future !
We will continue to actively seek outthese contracts. I have the feeling ho-
wever that our customers will reduce
capital spending in r998.
What do you feel are Air liquide'smain competitive strengths ?
A. J. - Our strengths have been
the very foundation of our groMh the-se last few years. I believe that the sum
of these strengths makes our group
unique.Our research and engineering centersin Europe, the US and Asia give us
some extremely advanced technologi-cal expertise. This, for example, has
MAY 1998 ISSUE
enabled the group to establish a posi-
tion in the semiconductors market,where it was virtually absent fifteenyearc aga. We have developed know-how to produce ultra-pure gases andprovide comprehensive pure gas andchemical gas services, and an enginee-.ring and distribution system to supplygas at eyery point of use in the custo-mer's plant, with Air Liquide personnel
on-site 365 days a year to operate and
monitor facilities. This is truly compre-
hensive service, which includes design,
construction and operation. This is
what our major customers, who are
refocusing on their core businesses,
want, and few groups in the world are
capable of providing this.
Would you 3ay that your pres€nce
in many regions of the world is alsoa strength?A. J. - Absolutely. A customer whowants to set up operations in a newand remote part of the world is reassu-
red knowing that a group like AirLiquide is waiting for them.Similarly, the reorganization of theGroup's merchant gas business intoz5o regions enables us to be closer toour customers with highly responsive
teams. I might also mention health-care, where our expansion strategybased on medical gases has resulted instrong growth. We have also grouped
all healthcare operations together and
set up specialized teams. Once again,
this type of organization is rather
unique in comparison with ourcompetitors. The most important factorhowever remains the quality of our menand women.
Tota I em p I oye et, 21,30 o
What do you mean ?
A.J. - A strategy is only as good as themeans you have to develop and implement
it. Skills don't just pop up out of thin air:
you must look for them, detect them, trainand develop them, and this takes years.
This is what we have done and this is
what really rnakes us different. Tribute
must be paid to the Croup's men and
women, since the succe5s obtainedthese last few years is the result of theirhard work.
How do you intend to develop humanresources IAJ. - We must further "globalize" our
management and development staff, by
promoting the exchange of executives bet-
ween subsidiaries, and between the subsi-
diaries and the Group. This gets people toknow each other better, obtain an overall
vision and communicate better. We willundoubtedly have to establish more for-
mal working methods to promote cross-
cultural-communication. We will also have
to step up the hiring of female executives.
This is a must since there is nothing worse
than a mono-cultural corporation.
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March 1998