Preface

Dear colleagues,

During the last months, we have seen a clear change in the activity level in several markets. Especially the market for new build construction is lower than last year. This is mainly caused by the European Central Bank, who increased interest rates a lot. Furthermore, building materials are much more expensive than some years ago. These two factors have increased the costs of new building projects significantly. 

The prices for gas and electricity have also decreased compared to last year. For many people and companies, that is good news. But for some markets, this trend has a negative impact. For example, we can see that the market for Heat Pumps has not grown as fast as expected. 

The good news is, that IPCOM is very diversified: we have activities in many different countries and industries. Also in 2023, we can see that some of our teams can continue their strong growth. This all will help us to have a robust development of our business. 

We also remain convinced that, in the mid to long term, markets will start to grow again in volume and turnover. With the European ambition to become climate neutral, a lot of work needs to be done to reduce energy consumption and CO2 emissions. Technical insulation will certainly play a crucial role to help achieve those ambitions. In the short term, as always, it is crucial that everyone within IPCOM is involved in finding new customers and selling a broader portfolio of products and services to our existing customers. Everyone can play a role, no matter your role or level of experience.

In the first months of this year, we welcomed HL Tech to our group. HL Tech is a distributor of technical insulation in Finland, mainly in the Helsinki area. They will be part of our “ISOPARTNER” business unit. 

We are looking forward to adding some more companies to our group in the coming months. 

Thank you all for all your efforts, 

Best regards,
Remco