Glaston Corporation Stock Exchange Release 30 October 2024 at 8:15 EET
Glaston announces a plan to further accelerate the execution of its strategic growth and profitability initiatives. The plan aims to strengthen the company’s focus on customer experience, especially in services, ensure continued positive profitability development and reach additional operational efficiencies.
Glaston’s medium-term strategic targets remain unchanged. The business-specific strategic initiatives will continue, supported with a new strategic Cornerstone initiative ‘Industry-leading customer service’. Glaston increases focus and invests in service capabilities and resources to accelerate services’ growth.
The plan includes changes in Leadership Team responsibilities reflecting the changes that are planned to be made in Glaston’s organization. The new organization is planned to come into effect on 1 January 2025.
Glaston serves its customers in the architectural, mobility, display and solar markets. The company continues to steer and follow up the business according to the current customer industry-based segment reporting structure. Thus, the plan will not impact Glaston’s financial reporting segments.
Three new Business Functions
In the new structure, Glaston plans to have three Business Functions:
- Market Areas are the main customer interface in the Americas, EMEA and APAC. Market Areas will cover in close collaboration with the Business Lines machine and services sales, as well as manage regional service operations. Sasu Koivumäki, Chief Sales Officer, will lead this Business Function.
- Solutions & Operations, to be led by Miika Äppelqvist, will be responsible for all Business Line-related machine and service product portfolios. The current Business Lines within the Architecture and Mobility, Display & Solar (MDS) Business Areas will continue in the Solutions & Operations organization and will be called Tempering & Laminating, Insulating Glass (combined current Architecture segment) and Mobility (current MDS segment).
Production operations will be led globally by the Solutions & Operations Business Function. The production of Glaston technologies will continue in Tampere in Finland, Neuhausen in Germany and Tianjin in China. Glaston is in the process of transferring the production of mobility and display pre-processing equipment products from Glaston Switzerland to Glaston’s factory in Tianjin. In addition to production operations, supply chain management and development will be led and developed globally.
- Service Supply & Development will focus on global spare parts-related operations and development, including global warehouses and supply chains as well as global service development. The recruitment for the position of EVP Service Supply & Development will start.
The planned organizational changes are based on Glaston’s strategic growth plan and are made to accelerate the profitability improvements toward the 10% comparable EBITA margin target.
Glaston does not expect the planned change to the three new Business Functions to contribute to any significant net cost additions or savings. To address the planned organizational changes and possible impacts on personnel, employee consultations will be conducted in accordance with local processes.
Changes in the Executive Leadership Team
In connection with the planned organizational changes, Miika Äppelqvist, currently SVP Architecture, is appointed Chief Solutions & Operations Officer, in effect 1 January 2025.
Also, in connection with the planned organizational changes, as of 1 January 2025, the SVP Mobility, Display & Solar Business Area role would no longer be part of Glaston’s Executive Leadership Team.
Starting 1 January 2025 Glaston’s Executive Leadership Team constitutes of:
Toni Laaksonen, President & CEO
Sasu Koivumäki, Chief Sales Officer
Riikka Laitasalo, SVP People and Culture
Kaisa Latva, General Counsel
Päivi Lindqvist, Chief Financial Officer
Miika Äppelqvist, Chief Solutions & Operations Officer
N.N., EVP Service Supply & Development (to be recruited)
“We want to enhance the customer experience by strengthening resources in the customer frontline in addition to building industry-leading customer support and services. We will extend our focus on services and increase investments in regional resources, global spare parts operations, and systematic global service process development. Accelerating our progress in improving profitability and operational excellence will be addressed by further optimizing Glaston’s global reach in production operations and supply chain to fully utilize the efficiency potential,” says Toni Laaksonen, Glaston’s President & CEO.
For further information:
Toni Laaksonen, President & CEO, tel. +358 10 500 500
Päivi Lindqvist, CFO, tel. +358 10 500 500
Glaston Corporation
Pia Posio, VP Communications, Marketing and IR, Tel. +358 10 500 5076
Glaston in brief
Glaston is the glass processing industry’s innovative technology leader supplying equipment, services and solutions to the architectural, mobility, display and solar industries. The company also supports the development of new technologies integrating intelligence to glass.
Glaston is committed to providing its clients with both the best know-how and the latest technologies in glass processing, with the purpose of building a better tomorrow through safer, smarter, and more energy efficient glass solutions. Glaston operates globally with manufacturing, services and sales offices in nine countries and its shares (GLA1V) are listed on Nasdaq Helsinki Ltd.
Distribution: NASDAQ Helsinki Ltd, key media, www.glaston.net