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Pall Corp cuts jobs due to profit fall
Industry news
Filtration+Separation July/August 2006
North American CAF growth predicted A new study by Frost & Sullivan predicts consistent growth in the North American cabin air filters (CAFs) aftermarket, with earned revenues of US$44.1 million in 2005, estimated to reach US$178.3 million by 2012. This growth is due, the study says, to improving sales of vehicles fitted with CAFs, and an increasing number of vehicle owners realising the importance that CAFs play in enhancing air quality.
“Revenues for the CAF aftermarket are likely to increase as vehicle owners and service technicians become aware of the existence of CAFs in their vehicles, and replace these filters regularly,” said Frost & Sullivan industry analyst Stephen Spivey. “Integrating the replacement of CAFs with routine maintenance procedures such as oil changes can drive the aftermarket without a corresponding change in the installed base.”
As more vehicles incorporating CAFs are requested, more are likely to be built, the company says. Currently, cars and trucks are not factory-equipped with CAFs due to cost and space constraints. Frost & Sullivan says that market development is limited due to low consumer awareness, and manufacturers should do more to educate distributors about the maintenance needs for CAFs. www.frost.com
Pall Corp cuts jobs due to profit fall Pall Corp’s profits fell in its most recent fiscal quarter, resulting in the company now planning to cut 10% of its global workforce, the manufacturer of filtration products reported this month. Pall did not specify where the job cuts – which could affect 11,000 employees worldwide – would be made, but according to Pat Iannucci, a Pall spokeswoman, the vast majority of cuts are expected to take place in North America and Europe. The company also plans to cut costs by US$20 million this fiscal year and US$40 million a year beginning in 2008, in order to offset the rising costs of raw materials and transport prices.
Improving in-car air: will there be a growth in cabin air filters (CAFs)?
Increased demand for soot filters reported Catalysts specialist Johnson Matthey says that it has experienced increased demand from many leading car companies in Europe for its catalysed soot filters (CSFs), which can remove particulates from diesel exhaust emissions. This is despite the fact that legislation requiring such emission control devices does not come into force (in Europe at least) until 2010, the company said. In 2005/06 the company commissioned a new factory in Royston, UK, to manufacture
CSFs and is currently installing new capacity at its South African facility, which also supplies the European market. Demand for CSFs increased in the second half of the year and the company expects to see further growth in 2006/07, Johnson Matthey says. www.matthey.com • German car magazine Autohaus reports that Germany plans to offer a 300 subsidy for retrofitted diesel particulate filters over the next two years, following an agreement between the
country’s environment and finance departments. • Meanwhile, any new cars which are produced after January 2007 not containing these filters (which will bring them to Euro 5 emissions standards) will have to pay a 300 excise duty surcharge, while older diesel vehicles not fitted with DPFs by 2008 or 2009 will face an excise duty surcharge of 40. • Currently, around 50% of all diesel cars marketed in Germany are fitted with diesel particulate filters (DPFs) as standard.
According to the company, earnings fell last quarter because of restructuring charges and repatriation of foreign subsidiary earnings – due, in an ironic twist, to the company repatriating US$400 million in foreign subsidiary earnings under the American Jobs Creation Act of 2004 (which is intended to be an incentive for multi-national companies to reinvest foreign profits in the United States and create domestic jobs). According to Iannucci, even though the company announced plans to reduce its workforce, it can still take advantage of the tax-cutting repatriation legislation, and the repatriated money will also be used to fund Pall’s defined-benefit pension plan, make acquisitions and increase research and development activities. “We are taking aggressive steps to address costs across the organisation with a number of initiatives, including a significant facilities reduction effort, better procurement and sales discipline for our systems business, and streamlining operations, particularly in lower-growth regions,” said Eric Krasnoff, Pall chairman and ceo in a statement. www.pall.com
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Filtration+Separation July/August 2006
North American CAF growth predicted A new study by Frost & Sullivan predicts consistent growth in the North American cabin air filters (CAFs) aftermarket, with earned revenues of US$44.1 million in 2005, estimated to reach US$178.3 million by 2012. This growth is due, the study says, to improving sales of vehicles fitted with CAFs, and an increasing number of vehicle owners realising the importance that CAFs play in enhancing air quality.
“Revenues for the CAF aftermarket are likely to increase as vehicle owners and service technicians become aware of the existence of CAFs in their vehicles, and replace these filters regularly,” said Frost & Sullivan industry analyst Stephen Spivey. “Integrating the replacement of CAFs with routine maintenance procedures such as oil changes can drive the aftermarket without a corresponding change in the installed base.”
As more vehicles incorporating CAFs are requested, more are likely to be built, the company says. Currently, cars and trucks are not factory-equipped with CAFs due to cost and space constraints. Frost & Sullivan says that market development is limited due to low consumer awareness, and manufacturers should do more to educate distributors about the maintenance needs for CAFs. www.frost.com
Pall Corp cuts jobs due to profit fall Pall Corp’s profits fell in its most recent fiscal quarter, resulting in the company now planning to cut 10% of its global workforce, the manufacturer of filtration products reported this month. Pall did not specify where the job cuts – which could affect 11,000 employees worldwide – would be made, but according to Pat Iannucci, a Pall spokeswoman, the vast majority of cuts are expected to take place in North America and Europe. The company also plans to cut costs by US$20 million this fiscal year and US$40 million a year beginning in 2008, in order to offset the rising costs of raw materials and transport prices.
Improving in-car air: will there be a growth in cabin air filters (CAFs)?
Increased demand for soot filters reported Catalysts specialist Johnson Matthey says that it has experienced increased demand from many leading car companies in Europe for its catalysed soot filters (CSFs), which can remove particulates from diesel exhaust emissions. This is despite the fact that legislation requiring such emission control devices does not come into force (in Europe at least) until 2010, the company said. In 2005/06 the company commissioned a new factory in Royston, UK, to manufacture
CSFs and is currently installing new capacity at its South African facility, which also supplies the European market. Demand for CSFs increased in the second half of the year and the company expects to see further growth in 2006/07, Johnson Matthey says. www.matthey.com • German car magazine Autohaus reports that Germany plans to offer a 300 subsidy for retrofitted diesel particulate filters over the next two years, following an agreement between the
country’s environment and finance departments. • Meanwhile, any new cars which are produced after January 2007 not containing these filters (which will bring them to Euro 5 emissions standards) will have to pay a 300 excise duty surcharge, while older diesel vehicles not fitted with DPFs by 2008 or 2009 will face an excise duty surcharge of 40. • Currently, around 50% of all diesel cars marketed in Germany are fitted with diesel particulate filters (DPFs) as standard.
According to the company, earnings fell last quarter because of restructuring charges and repatriation of foreign subsidiary earnings – due, in an ironic twist, to the company repatriating US$400 million in foreign subsidiary earnings under the American Jobs Creation Act of 2004 (which is intended to be an incentive for multi-national companies to reinvest foreign profits in the United States and create domestic jobs). According to Iannucci, even though the company announced plans to reduce its workforce, it can still take advantage of the tax-cutting repatriation legislation, and the repatriated money will also be used to fund Pall’s defined-benefit pension plan, make acquisitions and increase research and development activities. “We are taking aggressive steps to address costs across the organisation with a number of initiatives, including a significant facilities reduction effort, better procurement and sales discipline for our systems business, and streamlining operations, particularly in lower-growth regions,” said Eric Krasnoff, Pall chairman and ceo in a statement. www.pall.com
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