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Fisher & Paykel Appliances Buys Appliance Company in the United States

Fisher & Paykel Appliances Holdings Limited ('FPA') announced on 11th October the acquisition of Dynamic Cooking Systems, Inc. ('DCS'), a leading US manufacturer and distributor of premium cooking appliances. The factory is located close to FPA's main US sales and distribution facilities in Irvine, California.

DCS has been acquired from a private equity investor and the original founders of the business. In addition to the purchase price of US$33 million (NZ$49.3 million) FPA anticipates investing a further US$9.7 million (NZ$14.5 million) in new manufacturing plant and equipment and US$12 million (NZ$17.9 million) in working capital for DCS through to December 2005. DCS is being acquired on a debt free basis

John Bongard, Managing Director and CEO, Fisher & Paykel Appliances Holdings Limited said, 'DCS is considered one of the leading brands of high-end indoor and outdoor cooking appliances in the United States. The DCS products are an excellent fit with our own dedicated US range of laundry and kitchen products, and will provide us with a comprehensive suite of premium appliances for the US market.

'Fisher & Paykel Appliances has, for some time, been focussed on growing its sales in key international markets, in particular the United States which is the largest appliances market in the world,' said John. 'The acquisition of DCS will allow us to build on our existing US sales and distribution infrastructure with a completely new cooking range which is complementary to our existing range of premium products. Furthermore, the acquisition will establish a manufacturing base in the United States for us. Over time, there is the potential to expand the DCS facilities to manufacture other products for the US. This acquisition clearly demonstrates our long-term commitment to the US market, and we expect this will increase Fisher & Paykel's profile and brand value in this core market'.

Dynamic Cooking Systems Inc. commenced operations in 1987 manufacturing cooking appliances under an Original Equipment Manufacturing (OEM) arrangement, initially for Thermador. In 1991, DCS began manufacturing ultra premium outdoor cooking appliances, primarily outdoor grills (barbeques), where it retains a leading market position in the United States. The company expanded into high-end, commercial style indoor ranges, cooktops and ovens through the 1990s. DCS now manufactures OEM products for General Electric and Maytag, two of the largest appliances companies in the world.

'DCS products are now widely regarded to be among the best performing professional cooking equipment in the US market place. The company has a strong reputation for product innovation and evolution of the high-end cooking market and has recently won two prestigious Kitchen and Bath lnnovator Awards.' says John Bongard.

DCS products are manufactured at its factory in Huntington Beach, Los Angeles, which was purpose built for the company in l998. The factory is located close to FPA's main US sales and distribution facilities in Irvine, California.

DCS products are sold, directly or via distributors, to approximately 1,200 retail dealers in the United States. Many of these dealers also stock the Fisher & Paykel range of kitchen and laundry products.

The company has achieved strong sales growth since establishment. For the year to 31st December 2003, DCS achieved sales of US$102.9 million (NZ$153.6 million) and for the eight months to 31st August 2004 sales were US$75.8 million (NZ$113.1 million). This sales growth has been achieved despite a lack of investment in new manufacturing equipment and processes, minimal marketing spend and management changes over recent years, all of which have impacted earnings. This led to a restructuring of the business that gave rise to the opportunity for FPA to make this acquisition.

John Bongard said that DCS was an ideal strategic opportunity for FPA. The acquisition is in the core appliances sector and in a market that FPA is very familiar with through its existing US business. 'DCS will provide us with a new strategic platform to significantly expand and enhance the Company's product range and sales profile in the United States'.

Since 1999, FPA has steadily grown its product range and sales in the US with unit volume growth of more than 44 per cent per annum over that period. For the year to 31st March 2004, FPA's US dollar sales were US$85 million (NZ$140 million) which comprised approximately 16% of FPA's total Appliances sales. The US product range now includes DishDrawer® dishwashers, Smart Drive® clothes washers, the Titan cooking products (wall ovens and gas and electric cooktops), Active Smart® refrigerators and SmartLoad® Clothes Dryers.

For the six, months to 30th September 2004, FPA continued to achieve record sales in the US with volumes at 97,600 units, an increase of 35.5 per cent over the corresponding six months in 2003. Dollar sales for this period were US$54.3 million (NZ$84.8 million), an increase of 36.4 per cent.

As a result of changes in distribution and initial costs associated with integrating DCS with FPA's operations in the US, it is expected that FPA's net profit after tax for the year to 31st March 2005 will be reduced by approximately US$1.3 million (NZ$1.9 million). However, the acquisition is expected to contribute US$3.3 million (NZ$4.9 million) to net profit before taxation in the calendar year to 31st December 2005. This corresponds to an EBlT of US$7.7 million (NZ$11.5 million).

'Importantly, the acquisition meets all of our threshold criteria. Its long-term strategic value to FPA is considered significant,' John Bongard said.

FPA will immediately relocate key people experienced in manufacturing and operations to lead the integration of the businesses. The Company expects to achieve synergies from acquiring DCS through streamlining distribution arrangements, improving manufacturing equipment and processes and implementing new marketing initiatives. In addition, the acquisition will almost double FPA's sales revenue in the US, making it the company's second largest market after Australia.

'This will provide additional geographical diversification for us, balancing our exposure to the Australian and New Zealand markets', said John Bongard.
Funding for the acquisition will be sourced from FPA's debt facilities.

The total acquisition price and cost of new investment is expected to amount to NZ$83.3 million, taking FPA's net debt to approximately NZ$145 million thereby increasing gearing to approximately 22 per cent. The Directors believe that the DCS acquisition is an excellent investment and will provide better returns to shareholders, in the medium term, than the previously announced on market share buy-back. For this reason the Directors have decided not to proceed with the share buy-back of up to NZ$85 million.

The Company has completed detailed due diligence on DCS. UBS advised FPA in connection with the acquisition and KPMG and Munger, Tolles & Olsen LLP provided accounting and tax advice and US legal advice, respectively.

Further details on FPA and DCS are available on their websites:
http:www.fisherpaykel.com
http:www.dcsappliances.com

Airbath Posts Losses as Aquabeau Fails to Deliver, and New CEO Steps up to the Plate

The challenging trading conditions referred to in the interim results announced on 15th December 2003 continued from the third quarter into the fourth quarter of the financial year under review in both Aquabeau and Brampton Housewares. This was exacerbated in the case of Aquabeau by an ineffective implementation of its sales and marketing strategy.

Although the Group made a small operating profit pre exceptional costs, the loss before tax of the Group was £442,000 (2003: profit of £559,000). The loss per share was 0.57p (2003: eamings per share of 0.85p).

Exceptional costs before taxation for the period were £186,000 (2003: £114,000), relating principally to reorganisation and redundancy in both of the trading companies of £95,000 (2003: £352,000), but also abortive deal fees of £66,000 (2003: nil). During the year ended 31st March 2003 successful settlement of a claim contributed an exceptional profit of £238,000.

Balance sheet
Net debt at 31st March 2004 was £3,760,000 (2003: £3,566,000). The Group balance sheet at 31st March 2004 shows net liabilities of £1,177,000 (2003: £1,215,000), which is primarily due to a merger reserve of £4,142,000 arising on the demerger of the trading companies from Aquarius Group pIc in 2001.

Dividend
During the year no interim ordinary dividend was paid (2003: 0.10p). In light of the trading outcome for the financial year, the Board has decided that it will not be appropriate to pay a final ordinary dividend. In any case, the deficit on profit and loss reserves prevents any distribution of dividends. During the year, the Company accrued preference dividends of £182,000 (2003: £192,000), but paid none (2003: £200,000). Due to the deficit on profit and loss reserves, the preference dividend of £182,000 (2003: £90,000) cannot be paid and will not be paid in the foreseeable future. The cost of this dividend has been recognised in the profit and loss account as a finance cost and credited back through profit and loss reserves.

Review of operations

Aquabeau - turnover £8,910,000 (2003: £9,501,000)
Aquabeau's sales fell by 6.2% over the year and this resulted in a drop in full year profits compared with last year. Average gross margin fell, which was partly due to an adverse shift in product mix. However, Aquabeau continues to make operating profits although this year's result was considerably behind last year's in part as a result of the ineffective implementation of our sales and marketing strategy mentioned above. We remain committed to our strategy of focusing on our niche and more profitable product ranges and to the marketing of Airbath® products through our increasingly established 'Centres of Excellence'.

Considerable effort has been put into improving the marketing of Aquabeau's excellent products and to improving the quality of its sales force. We believe that there are numerous opportunities for profitable growth In most ofthe markets served by Aquabeau. The Appollo® range of assisted bathing products is directed at a growing market of both institutional and private clients. The moving water segment of the market is growing and this is served by both our Airbath® range of products as well as our range of whirlpools. Meanwhile, the Aquarius range has performed well in the period and we expect this success to continue. Aquabeau's strategy continues to focus upon expanding its range of high margin products and strengthening its brands while exploiting opportunities in all sections of the market.

Brampton Housewares - turnover £5,093,000 (2003: £5,802,000)
Brampton Housewares has continued to suffer in a tough market and sales fell by 12.2% compared to the previous year. Profits for this company were considerably behind those for the same period last year. The acquisition of one major customer by another and a move to direct import by many customers have presented considerable challenges. Brampton's cost base has been cut to a level appropriate to the expected level of tumover and considerable effort has been put into developing new product ranges for a wider variety of customers.

Directors and staff
In January 2004, Clive Gilham resigned as Executive Chairman and I was asked to step up from Non-executive Director to Executive Chairman, pending the appointment of a new Group Chief Executive. Since that time, the Board has been working with Gartland Whalley and Barker plc ('GWB'), Airbath's majority shareholder, to find the right team to take the Group forward. I am delighted to announce the appointment of Lawrence Warriner as full-time Group Chief Executive and the return of Phillip Bennett, GWB's group managing director, as Chairman.

I am therefore, today, returning to the role of Non-executive Director. Lawrence Warriner is a professional manager with a sales and marketing background and has eleven years experience in the kitchen and bathroom sectors. He is also a qualified chartered accountant. We welcome him to the Group, where he will also act as managing director of Aquabeau Limited. I would like to thank my fellow directors and all of our employees for their continued and enthusiastic support and commitment throughout the changes the staff and Group have experienced.

Strategy
The Group's strategy is to focus the existing niche businesses on their profitable brands and product ranges. An emphasis on design and quality will continue to be supported by a culture of customer service.

In April 2004, the Group announced that it had received an approach that might lead to an offer being made. These talks have now stalled and so we consider it unlikely that this approach will lead to an offer. Costs and fees incurred of £66,000 relating to these discussions have been written off in the financial year.
However, the possibility of an offer cannot be ruled out and a further announcement will be made as and when required and the Directors continue to look at various corporate options. That said, the main focus over the coming year will be supporting the new Group Chief Executive in driving the Group forward.

Prospects and current trading
Demand for the Group's products in the first quarter of the current financial year was encouraging but has fallen back in the second quarter, particularly for the more expensive items. Therefore the trend towards a product mix with lower average margins has continued. We continue to believe that there are many opportunities for growth, especially for our Airbath® and Appollo® product range, and we remain committed to the further development of the Group.

Going concern
As explained in the Annual Report for the year ended 31st March 2003, the Group breached its banking covenants during the year ended 31st March 2004. All the bank facilities are now repayable on demand and the revolving debt facility has been reduced. The overdraft and invoice discounting facilities have not been affected. Throughout 2004, the Directors have been in discussion with the Group's bankers, who have indicated, based on knowledge of current trading performance, that they are prepared to continue to provide adequate bank facilities, subject to a number of conditions, including satisfactory future trading performance. The Bank has not demanded repayment of its loans. The Directors therefore believe it is appropriate that the financial statements be prepared on a going concern basis.

30th September 2004
John Parkinson, Executive Chairman

Maytag Turns the Corner in Q3 With Positive Results from 'One Company' Strategy

Maytag Corporation yesterday reported third quarter consolidated sales of $1.19bn, down 3 percent from sales of $1.22bn in the same period last year. Net income for the third quarter of 2004 was $7.5m, compared with $36.6m or 46 cents per share a year ago and an improvement over the second quarter's net loss of $41.1m or 52 cents per share. Included in the third quarter are restructuring and related charges for the Galesburg closure and 'One Company' reorganisation, as well as a gain from the sale of a Canadian warehouse.

While year-over-year comparisons are unfavorable, the company pointed out that progress has been made with sequential improvements from the second quarter to the third quarter of this year. Consolidated sales are up 3 percent from $1.15 billion in the second quarter. Third quarter net income of $7.5 million or 9 cents per share was an improvement over the second quarter's net loss of $41.1 million or 52 cents per share. Included in the third quarter are restructuring and related charges of 16 cents per share for the Galesburg closure and "One Company" reorganization, as well as a gain of 10 cents per share from the sale of a Canadian warehouse.

The sequential improvements in the third quarter resulted primarily from higher sales in major appliances and savings from cost-reduction efforts. The improvement was achieved despite significantly higher steel and energy-related costs.

Unfavorable year-over-year comparisons were caused primarily by lower Hoover floor care sales volumes and pricing, as well as higher steel costs. The third quarter diluted earnings per share for 2004 and 2003 included the following items:

Commenting on the third quarter, Maytag chairman and CEO Ralph Hake stated, "We accomplished a great deal in the third quarter with the sequential improvement in sales and operating income. We are taking the right actions to improve Maytag's performance going forward. Our 'One Company' restructuring, which consolidates Hoover floor care, Maytag Appliances and corporate organizations, is on track for $150 million in annual savings and lowered our costs in the third quarter. We successfully completed the systems conversion required for the 'One Company' consolidation. Also in the third quarter, we made significant progress in cash flow and lowered inventories from the previous quarter, reached a new labor agreement at our Amana plant, and completed the sale of our joint venture in China."

Operating results for the third quarter were impacted by a charge of $7.2 million recorded in connection with the "One Company" restructuring. Restructuring charges of $11.9 million were recorded in connection with closing the Galesburg plant. Annual savings of $30 million from the closing of the plant are anticipated to start in the fourth quarter of 2004.
Cash flow in the third quarter was favorably impacted by improvements in working capital levels gained from lower inventories, lower capital expenditures and higher accounts payable, by the sale of Maytag's warehouse in Burlington, Ontario, and by the completion of the sale of Maytag's interest in a joint venture in China. The positive cash flow performance enabled the company to reduce total debt levels by approximately $100 million and increase cash and cash equivalents by $50 million from the second quarter.

Commenting on earnings expectations for the fourth quarter, Hake said that the company expects reported earnings per share in the range of 5 to 10 cents. This guidance includes restructuring and related charges of approximately 10 cents per share.

Effective with the third quarter of 2004, Maytag changed its segment reporting from three segments to two, as the company aligned its segment reporting to reflect its major restructuring effort to consolidate Hoover floor care, Maytag Appliances and Corporate Headquarters organizations. The new reporting segments are Home Appliances, which includes major appliances and floor care products as well as the company's international export business and service operations, and Commercial Products, which includes vending equipment and commercial cooking products. Net sales and operating income have been reclassified for the new segments for 2003 and 2004 by quarter and for the full year 2002.

The Commercial Products segment reported nine month sales of $211.0 million and operating loss of $5.7 million. In the first nine months of 2003, the segment had sales of $236.4 million and operating income of $19.4 million.

American Standard Reports Diluted EPS Of 71 Cents, Up 29 Percent

American Standard Companies Inc. announced on October 18th record third-quarter earnings of 71 cents per diluted share, up 29 percent from third quarter last year. Third-quarter sales were $2.396 billion, up 7 percent from a year ago, and net income rose 27 percent to $156 million.

Third-quarter earnings include operational consolidation expenses of $7 million or 2 cents per diluted share net of taxes, primarily for Bath and Kitchen, as well as a benefit from a tax item of 8 cents per diluted share. Excluding those items, diluted EPS was a record 65 cents or 18 percent higher than third quarter last year.

'We delivered another good quarter of growth, with particularly nice progress in our Bath and Kitchen and Vehicle Control Systems businesses,' said Fred Poses, chairman and chief executive officer. 'We benefited from the performance of our new products and our marketing initiatives, even as we felt the impact of the unseasonably cool summer on our air conditioning business.

'Our ongoing materials and Six Sigma initiatives continued to drive important savings that helped us absorb significantly higher costs for commodity metals, energy and transportation. Commodity costs, which have increased all year, limited our upside potential in the third quarter and will do so again in the fourth quarter.

'For the fourth quarter, we expect sales to be up about 6-8 percent and earnings in the range of 40-44 cents per diluted share, up 5-16 percent from the same period last year,' said Poses. 'The fourth-quarter estimate includes possible operational consolidation expenses of as much as 7 cents per diluted share and tax benefits of that amount or higher.

'We are tightening our 2004 full-year earnings estimate to $2.21-$2.25 from the $2.17-$2.27 we announced in June. This estimate represents a 21-23 percent increase over 2003 full-year earnings. In addition, we are reiterating our cash flow estimates provided in January. We expect to generate more than $720 million in net cash provided by operating activities and more than $500 million in free cash flow, up from our record 2003 results.

'We're continuing to invest in our businesses to drive both growth and productivity. We've realised price increases, mainly in our air conditioning business, that have partially offset commodity cost escalations. With recently announced industry pricing actions, we expect more price increases in place by year-end. For all these reasons and more, we're well-positioned for good growth in earnings and cash flow in 2005,' said Poses.

In the third quarter, segment income was $280.3 million, up 12 percent from third quarter last year. Total operating margin for the quarter was 11.7 percent, up 0.5 percentage points. Net cash provided by operating activities was $205.8 million, $23.3 million below last year. Free cash flow was $145.8 million, down $37.7 million from a year ago. Interest expense was about the same as third quarter last year. Corporate and other expenses increased by $6.1 million primarily because of the impact of increased costs related to incentive compensation, self-insurance, minority interest and Sarbanes-Oxley implementation.

Third-Quarter Business Highlights

Air Conditioning Systems and Services sales were $1.375 billion, up 2 percent over third quarter last year. Growth in global commercial equipment led the sales increase. Segment income was $168.8 million, up 2 percent. Benefits from improved mix, price and productivity initiatives offset the impact of commodity cost escalations and decreased volume in the residential part of the air conditioning business, which was caused by second-quarter pre-buying followed by an unseasonably cool summer. Operating margin was 12.3 percent, essentially flat with the prior year.

The company introduced new commercial controls products, including Tracer Summit Energy Services and the Tracer Summit Critical Control System designed for pharmaceutical facilities with stringent government manufacturing standards.
Large contracts signed during the quarter include ones for Boston Scientific; Carrefour retail supercenters (China and Asia-Pacific); Children's Medical Center in Dallas (Texas); Direct Energy, a leading Canadian energy and home services retailer; Pacific Union College (California); ProMOS Technologies (Taiwan); Wa-Nee Community Schools (Indiana); Winbond Electronics Corporation (Taiwan) and World Market Center in Las Vegas (Nevada).

Bath and Kitchen sales increased 8 percent to $599.7 million. Segment income was $54.6 million, up 27 percent compared with last year. Segment income benefited from productivity gains and improved mix, price and volume, as well as from previous operational consolidations. Operating margin was 9.1 percent, up 1.4 percentage points from the prior year.

During the quarter, Bath and Kitchen launched products around the world, including the VertiSpa™ Shower System in the U.S., a range of super-showers in Italy and new faucet styles in Germany. The Champion™ toilet continued its successful rollout in the U.S., with advertising, promotion by retail partners and recognition as a featured product in popular magazines. Bath and Kitchen also won large commercial contracts, including ones for Nanjing Olympic Sports Centre, the site of the 2005 China national games, as well as La Scala de Milano theatre in Italy.

Vehicle Control Systems third-quarter sales were $420.9 million, up 28 percent over third quarter last year because of higher truck builds, increased content per vehicle and continued global sales penetration. Segment income was $56.9 million, up 34 percent from last year's strong quarter. The combination of higher volume and productivity savings more than offset the effects of typical pricing reductions, cost escalations and mix. Operating margin was 13.5 percent, up 0.6 percentage points.

At the IAA commercial vehicle tradeshow in Hanover, Germany, WABCO launched a number of products, including the second generation of its air disc brake and electronic braking systems (EBS) as well as a compact anti-lock braking system (ABS) for trailers. Momentum continued to build for WABCO's Integrated Vehicle Tire Pressure Monitoring (IVTM) system as two customers featured IVTM at their IAA vehicle launches, and the system also became officially available for the aftermarket. IVECO displayed IVTM in combination with rear super-single tyres on its STRALIS Active Time tractor unit. Volvo's exhibit showcased IVTM among key safety systems on two new heavy trucks: optional on the new FM 12 off-road construction vehicle and fitted to the extra-wide single tyre standard on the weight-saving FM 9 vehicle.

CDA Scoops £500,000 Order from China

Domestic appliance manufacturer the CDA Group, has beaten competition from market leaders to secure a £500,000 order from China. Months of negotiation followed a trip to China by Managing Director lan Kershaw, who is naturally delighted to win this business.

CDA was approached by the Royal Beijing Kitchen Company which works with major developers constructing luxury apartments in Beijing, Shanghai and other major cities. Directors of the company also visited CDA in Nottingham to look at the product range, and after having looked at other manufacturers decided on the CDA brand.

lan Kershaw said: 'Our first order was for several hundred ovens, and we have now sold something like 5,000 products to them - ovens, hobs, dishwashers - worth over £500,000.

'lt has been one of our biggest orders, and a real coup for us, however I'm not actively seeking to grow the export side of the business; if it happens that's great, but I believe the domestic market has a long way to go yet.'

Tel: 0115 970 0111
Email: mailto:sales@cda-europe.com
Web: http://www.cda-europe.com

Burbidge Invests £350,000 to Improve Flexibility

Burbidge, the UK’s leading manufacturer of kitchen frontals and accessories, has invested over £350,000 in improving production facilities and processes in order to enhance its service to customers.

The company has added a new £50,000 storage extension to its Coventry-based warehouse, enabling storage of a broader range of frontals and accessories and thereby ensuring a swifter response to customer orders.

In addition, to demonstrate Burbidge’s commitment to providing the broadest range of products possible, the company has invested a further £150,000 in new state-of-the-art production equipment for edge profiling doors. The new equipment facilitates a faster product changeover, thereby enabling small quantities of a wider range of doors and accessories to be produced. According to managing director Ben Burbidge, “The benefit to customers is that we can be much more flexible in responding to new and emerging market trends. We don’t have to wait until a trend becomes ‘mainstream’ in order to ensure cost-effective production; we can produce smaller quantities in response to relatively niche requirements.”

Following a business improvement research exercise using advanced computer simulation software, an additional £150,000 has been spent on upgrading the company’s paint facilities. Burbidge has identified a way of speeding up production and creating 15% additional manufacturing capacity simply by separating, at the colouring stage of production, the 20% of products that need painting and the 80% of products that only require lacquering.

Burbidge has also updated its entire operating system – including its warehousing, order processing, distribution and replenishment procedures – to improve overall efficiency, product traceability and information access.

Ben Burbidge comments: “Our aim at all times is to provide our customers with the best service – not just in terms of the quality of our manufacturing or our innovative designs – but through being able to provide products on demand.

“We want to be able to guarantee stock availability at the point of order, without having to reduce the choice of products on offer. We want to ensure our customers always have the broadest range of doors and accessories to choose from, so they can be more individual in their own design solutions. We also want to be able to respond to new market demands quickly, and adapt to ever changing requirements. In order to do so, our operational and manufacturing processes must be flexible – hence our recent investments.”

Further investment to enable greater flexibility in both production and customer service is planned for the near future

Daval Furniture to Launch Kitchen Collection

Daval Furniture, one of the United Kingdom’s largest independent manufacturers of bedroom, bathroom and home office furniture is about to launch its new kitchen collection.

Established in 1978, Daval is looking forward to using its experience to meet the challenges of the kitchen market. Preparations for the kitchen launch began last year and were led by a period of investment.

‘We’ve been keen to launch kitchens for some time. However, the company needed to develop to allow us to compete successfully in the kitchen market as well as the bedroom, bathroom and home office markets,’ explains Managing Director David Bodsworth.

These developments included the move to a purpose built factory in Huddersfield:

‘We were bursting at the seams before the move. We could not possibly have manufactured any more than we were doing, so it was time to find more space. We have also invested in new livery, machinery and human resources to ensure that we continue to be totally efficient throughout all areas of our business when we launch kitchens.’

One of Daval’s investments was Philip Bird, a well-established kitchen designer in the UK. ‘We have been developing our kitchen collection for over a year now. We wanted the collection to reflect modern living. Part of the process involved creating new styles and allowing the collection’s identity to take shape,’ explains Philip. ‘We finalised our styles and colours at the end of the summer and I really think that we have something truly unique to offer.’

The collection, which will be available in decors including cappuccino, light ferrara oak and crystal maple, offers many quality features as standard, including colour co-ordinated cabinets, integrated Blum motion on all drawers and soft closing wirework and doors.

Daval says that it has built its reputation on quality, service and professionalism in the bedroom, bathroom and home office industries. The company has been working hard with suppliers including Blum, Hafele and Egger to produce its kitchen collection.

‘Our vision is to launch a high quality British product that has a wide appeal, and is built with the imagination and specification often associated with continental furniture. Our furniture designs have achieved this aim and we are confident that our customers will be as excited about our furniture as we are.’

Daval hopes to invite selected retailers to preview its furniture during December. The kitchens will be sold exclusively through independent retailers.

‘We have put a lot of research and effort into ensuring that the needs of our retailers are met once we launch kitchens. We are keen to supply to retailers who share our enthusiasm for furniture. In return we offer all retailers our complete support in everything from showroom displays, to the on-time delivery of our furniture,’ concludes David.

Tel: 01484 848500
Email: mailto:gemma@daval-furniture.co.uk
Web: http://www.daval-furniture.co.uk

Homestyle Admits to Challening First Half in AGM Statement

At this week's Annual General Meeting of the Homestyle Group plc, David Brock, Chairman, made the following statement to shareholders prior to the Company entering its close period on 30th October, 2004.

'The first half of the year has been a very challenging period for the Company. We have undergone a significant level of management change and undertaken a fundamental financial review which has resulted in the Group restructuring its balance sheet and refinancing its debt. However, we now believe that the business is properly focused to carry out its commercial strategy.

In respect of the outstanding HM Customs & Excise claim in relation to the VAT treatment of structural guarantees, the Board remains committed to defending the Company's position and will keep this matter under regular review with its expert advisors.

The trading environment remains highly competitive and recent interest rate rises are having an impact on our home-related markets. Against this challenging background, total sales for our continuing businesses are ahead of last year by 12.3% for the 24 weeks to 16th October 2004. Within this increase, the Bed Division continues to perform strongly and the Furniture Division is beginning to make progress despite its withdrawal from textiles and the transfer of Harveys Bed business to our Bed Division. Like for like sales comparisons continue not to be relevant due to the significant restructuring of space between the trading Divisions over the recent months.

The Board continues to recognise the need to degear the business, in particular through the planned sale of the Bed Division. Having now completed the strengthening and restructuring of the Harveys management team, we will be in a position to set out our detailed recovery plans with the forthcoming Interim Results to be announced in January 2005.

The Board has taken a number of significant decisions in the First half of this year with the aim of providing a stable platform to recover shareholder value. As a result, we have been able to strengthen the balance sheet, stabilise performance at the Furniture Division with the Beds Division continuing to trade strongly. Overall, we are confident of making progress in the second half as we complete our plans for the longer-term recovery of the Furniture Division.'

Tel: +44 (0) 20 7796 4133
Web: http://www.homestylegroup.com

Ongoing Success means Two New Merchandisers Appointed for Axiom Brand

Formica Limited has announced that is has appointed Sarah Bamford and Richard Crisp as Merchandisers for the Axiom range of worktops and splashbacks. 'Axiom, from Formica Limited, is the UK's number one worktop brand, and these new appointments demonstrate the continuing success of the brand.' says the company. 'Furthermore, with the well-received launch of the Axiom Etchings range recently, Axiom, from Formica Limited, goes from strength to strength, leading the field in design choice and product innovation.'

Both Merchandisers will have responsibility for visiting kitchen studios, merchants and retailers in order to promote Formica products and services, assisting in marketing programmes and conducting market research for the further development ofthe Axiom range. They will be available as a key point of contact for advice and guidance to studios, and for items such as displays and promotional materials.

Richard will cover the geographical area from Birmingham to the Scottish borders, while Sarah will cover Birmingham and the south. Both will be actively contacting studios. Gordon Campbell, who already works in a similar capacity, will continue to cover Scotland.

Web: http://www.axiomworktops.com

Falcon's Infinity Fryer Rocks

Hard Rock Cafes are home to some classic equipment - usually memorabilia adorning the walls. However, the world’s first Hard Rock Bar in Bristol, a brand new leisure concept, has just recently installed a ‘new classic’ piece of equipment in the kitchen - the revolutionary Infinity fryer from Falcon Foodservice - first reported in The K&BZine on 23rd September (http://www.thekbzine.com/newsarchive/news230904.html#FalconFryer).

New to the marketplace, Falcon’s range of Infinity fryers can help caterers halve food production costs and reap potential savings of £thousands a year for high throughput establishments. It has also helped kitchen staff at the rock themed bar to create a safe and clean environment in which to cook classic American food.

The Hard Rock Bar menu carries plenty of the old Hard Rock favourites such as the famous Hard Rock Burger and tasty Nachos smothered in cheese along with some new additions such as the aptly named Bristol Combo.

The Infinity was specified on the basis that its flat-bottomed pan design uses only a fraction of the oil required by competitors’ products. In addition, the oil's lifespan can be doubled and oil degradation reduced due to its enhanced in-built oil maintenance system. The flat pan design also means that it is much easier to clean, which again helps to reduce oil degradation.

Nicola Freemantle, general manager at the Hard Rock Bar commented: 'The bar is the world’s first and is an extension of the famous Hard Rock Café concept. The organisation is synonymous with good food and we use high value equipment to ensure we create a healthier cooking environment, benefits that are passed onto customers through tastier food.

'Our chefs have been very impressed with the fryer and the safer and easier oil filtering procedure, which has eliminated the collection of food debris and maximised the oil quality. The Infinity has helped to create a cleaner frying and cleaning operation and we would definitely recommend them to the rest of the Hard Rock organisation.'

The Infinity design is founded on the creation of a healthier environment in which to fry food, by reducing contamination and tainted flavours caused by fats and pollutants within the oil. Contaminated oil equates to contaminated food, with oxygen, water, food debris and heat all playing a key role in oil degradation. The Infinity greatly reduces Free Fatty Acids (FFAs), fat content, polymers and oxidation products and total polar compounds, and although fat can never be removed from oil, nor can it be taken out of the food, the Infinity is the only fryer on the marketplace that can maintain such low levels of saturated fat within the oil for the longest amount of time.

Without compromising food output and recovery time, the design of the Infinity permits a dramatic reduction in the oil and energy consumption of conventional fryers, which has a positive impact on those all-important overhead costs.
The Hard Rock organisation is one of the most recognised music, entertainment and dining brands in the world. Currently there are more than 100 Hard Rock Cafes in 40 countries, combining the spirit of rock music, memorabilia from the hottest musical artists of the last 50 years and a true taste of Americana.
You simply get an Infinitely better taste of America at the Hard Rock Bar.

Tel: 01786 455 227
Email: mailto:smcmillan@afefalcon.com
Web: http://www.infinityfryers.com or http://www.falconfoodservice.com