John Wolz

Polish fixings specialist Koelner Group signed an agreement with BPB plc subsidiaries Artex-Rawlplug Ltd and Gypsum Industries Ltd of Ireland giving it control of Rawlplug fixings in the UK, Ireland and France.

The three operations are now Rawlplug Ltd in the UK, Rawlplug Ireland Ltd and Rawl France SARL.
In a letter to Rawl customers Koelner emphasized its intentions to develop the Rawlplug business, including investment in current production and the introduction of new product lines.

BPB bought Rawlplug Group for GB�27million in 2001. The price paid by Koelner was not announced.

Koelner is headquartered in Wroclaw, Poland, and reports an 18% domestic market share. Founded in 1982, Koelner is managed by family members. There are eight branches in Poland, including two Polish distribution companies acquired in since 2000, which account for 60% of group sales. The balance comes from operations in Russia and other Eastern European states. Group sales for 2004 were PLN159million (US$48 million).

The group has 450 employees. Koelner manufactures some products but primarily sources from Asia and elsewhere in Europe and is predominantly marketed as its own brand.

In the early 20th Century John Rawlings devised a brass cruxiform plug for fitting items to a wall and then the original fiber plug. The Rawlplug company was officially formed just after World War I. The company’s manufacturing site is in Glasgow, Scotland, producing a range of high performance concrete anchors. The 2004 sales were approximately US$37million. Web: koelner.biz
�2005 Fastener & Fixing Europe and FastenerNews.com