Staying the course

Without doubt, the worldwide economic downturn continues to look serious. It has spread from its beginnings as a US mortgage crisis to affect financial
institutions and local economies in virtually all of the markets we serve globally. Despite the inability of experts to provide either an easy solution or a precise timeframe for this series of events, I believe that FLSmidth is well-positioned to stay the course and emerge from the crisis stronger than ever.

Although our cement and minerals markets are being affected, we have a large backlog of orders, which reached record levels in the second half of 2008. Even more importantly, we expanded our after-market organisation when the market was booming: FLSmidth now has the largest after-market organisation in the industries. This means that we are well prepared to help our customers weather the current market turbulence by helping them operate their daily businesses more efficiently and economically.

We have also taken steps to run our own operations more cost-efficiently. It is important to note, however, that even now, in 2009, FLSmidth continues to maintain its commitment to a strong R&D budget with the aim of strengthening our technological lead. There is no better way to ensure that when the economy turns the corner, FLSmidth will be prepared with the state-of-the-art products and technology necessary to fuel future growth – for our customers and for us.

Above all, I want to stress that we will continue to be there for our customers, whenever we are needed. FLSmidth’s 127 years of historical success is firmly based on long-term customer relationships and our ability to provide a complete range of services. We are today more committed than ever to helping our customers operate efficiently and stay the course with us. And to optimistically looking ahead to assess our possibilities for the future.

I wish you pleasant reading of the magazine.

J. Huno Rasmussen
CEO, FLSmidth