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Prysmian Group – 2015 Sustainability Report
Integrated Sustainability
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In Suzhou and Tianjin, China, production capacity has been increased for Trade & Installer, Rolling Stock
and Elevator cables; in Keila, Estonia, the Group has invested in a new production hub for LV cables that
will serve the north European market; in Malaysia, on the other hand, capacity has been installed for the
production of instrument and control cables for the Far East area; lastly, two projects are nearing
completion in Kistelek, Hungary: the first to create a line that produces rubber-sheathed cables for the
central European market, and the second to expand production capacity in the Trade & Installer sector, in
order to serve the central European market from a source with lower transformation costs.
In the Telecom business area, major work continued during 2015 in order to verticalise the production of
optical fibres at the Sorocaba factory in Brazil, and at the Claremont factory in the United States, in order to
serve better the North American market. Investment in additional capacity for the production of optical
cables also continued at the factory in Slatina (Romania) where, at the same time, work has commenced on
the construction of a new factory dedicated entirely to Telecom cables. This further confirms the desire to
create there a European centre of excellence for telecom optical cables.
The Group invested 31% of the available resources in efficiency improvements that reduce fixed and
variable costs, especially in relation to the use of materials and the design of products. This percentage was
considerably higher than in the previous year (20%). Specifically, significant investments in efficiency have
been made in the metallurgy sector of the Energy Products segment, following the decision of the Group to
complete the verticalisation of production at a number of factories. With regard to the Telecom segment,
investment to enhance efficiency has continued at the European factories for the production of optical fibre
in Battipaglia (Italy) and Douvrin (France), with a view to reducing fibre manufacturing costs. In addition,
projects completed at the Italian factory included the installation of a tri-generation plant that will reduce
energy costs, as well as work to increase the size of pre-forms. Lastly, the Group has started work to
expand the Grombalia plant in Tunisia, following a decision to bring activities in-house that were previously
outsourced.
The Prysmian Group allocated 5% of total investment in the constant development of our IT systems and in
R&D (the part not charged to the income statement). In particular, investment on implementation of the
"SAP Consolidation" project continued during 2015. This is designed to harmonise IT systems across the
Group in the coming years. Specifically, the kernel of the new ERP system was updated and the system
was extended to the United Kingdom and Brazil.
Consistent with last year, capital investment to maintain capacity amounted to about 10% of the total, while
the portion relating to other investments declined to 10%. This last category mainly includes construction of
the Group's new headquarters within the Ansaldo 20 industrial area in the Bicocca zone of Milan. This
facility, developed over an area in excess of 20,000 m
2
, will enable Prysmian to bring all business functions
together in one location, thus saving on operating costs.