Message from the President
Since the merger of NSG and Pilkington in June 2006, we have made good progress in identifying synergies and to prepare for integration.
From April 1 2007, we completed the integration of our business, combining the Building Products and Automotive businesses of NSG and Pilkington into a single Flat Glass Business, under the leadership of Stuart Chambers.
This is an important step in the development of our company. Our clear objective is to be the global leader in the flat glass market. - a market that is growing. Our global Flat Glass business in the new NSG Group has operations all over the world. Our regional coverage is the broadest in the industry. Our Speciality Glass & Materials business provides unique products in information technology and fiber glass, worldwide.
In the Group's Values and Principles statement, circulated to every employee, we make it clear that Health and Safety and Quality are top priorities for the Group. The Health and Safety of all employees at work is essential in a responsible and well run company. As manufacturers, Quality must be our obsession. We intend to achieve this through Monozukuri - a passion for manufacturing excellence.
In November 2006, we announced the Medium Term Plan for NSG Group. We set out a three-phase strategy for the next ten years. I want to focus here on Phase 1 - from 1 April 2007 to 2010.
What we do in this time is crucial for the future of our company. We are creating a new integrated business. We aim to be better than our competitors. We want to be preferred by customers, shareholders and our people. This means improving our operational excellence, with the highest quality products, lowest costs, and best service to customers.
And at the same time we need to strengthen the financial position of the company. This means meeting our budget targets. Where appropriate we will make some selective investments in order to develop our business.
So, we have a big challenge, and a great opportunity, before us. We are fully committed to being the world's leading glass company. We will operate in a spirit of openness and fairness, with face-to-face communication. We have made an excellent start. Now, we intend to move forward - quickly and confidently.
