Philippe Guillemot’s visit to China: refocusing on premium production
By the end of November, Philippe Guillemot, Chairman and CEO of Vallourec, Ludovic Oster, Group Chief Human Resources Officer, and Laurent Dubedout, Senior Vice-President OCTG Services and Accessories Business Line, accompanied by Amanda Tan, General Manager of Vallourec China, Li Tao, General Manager of Vallourec Tianda Chuzhou, and Phil Xi, Plant Manager of Vallourec Tianda Changzhou visited the Chinese plants [Vallourec Tianda in Chuzhou, Changzhou and Vallourec China, the Group’s headquarters in China].
This visit is part of a major strategic transformation for the Group’s Chinese entities. As part of its New Vallourec plan and highlighted at Vallourec’s last Capital Market Day, in September, the Group has decided to refocus its activities on premium, high value-added production in China. China is home to our latest mass rolling capacity in the Eastern Hemisphere region, a highly modern, high-capable asset. Until now, a significant proportion of Vallourec’s Chinese plant sales were in low-value business lines, mainly in a highly competitive local market, and the company had little exposure to overseas markets such as the Middle East, Africa and South-East Asia.
The strategy is now to refocus operations on premium threading capacities, to give priority to the “value over volume” approach, and to open up more widely to export and reduce costs. The aim is to create a premium production hub within Vallourec’s portfolio, with results expected as early as 2024.
A major strategic transformation
This visit is part of a major strategic transformation for the Group’s Chinese entities. As part of its New Vallourec plan and highlighted at Vallourec’s last Capital Market Day, in September, the Group has decided to refocus its activities on premium, high value-added production in China. China is home to our latest mass rolling capacity in the Eastern Hemisphere region, a highly modern, high-capable asset. Until now, a significant proportion of Vallourec’s Chinese plant sales were in low-value business lines, mainly in a highly competitive local market, and the company had little exposure to overseas markets such as the Middle East, Africa and South-East Asia.
The strategy is now to refocus operations on premium threading capacities, to give priority to the “value over volume” approach, and to open up more widely to export and reduce costs. The aim is to create a premium production hub within Vallourec’s portfolio, with results expected as early as 2024.
