The Swedish company is saving American roofs – growing like crazy
Published: 16 April 2024, 23:21 Moa Mossberg is the customer manager at Swedish ABECE, which makes machine systems for the production of concrete roof tiles.
When the hurricanes tear the roofs off Florida’s villas, Nyköpingsföretaget ABECE gets a full order book. This is how they rowed home a deal worth SEK 100 million with the help of the government’s EKN, the Export Credit Board.
EKN exists for all Swedish companies, large and small, in all industries – read more
Florida holds the record as America’s most hurricane-hit state; of the 301 hurricanes that hit the US between 1851 – when counting began – and 2022, 120 have hit Florida. For most people, hurricanes are synonymous with serious damage and great loss. For manufacturers of roof tiles, they are a gold mine.
– Florida has for many years been a “sold out market”, which means that the roof tile producers sell out of everything they have time to produce. The hurricanes definitely contribute to that, as does the fact that so many villas are being built here. There are simply plenty of roofs that can fly off, says Moa Mossberg, customer manager at Swedish ABECE, which makes machine systems for the production of concrete roof tiles.
From forge to major player
After the ravages of Hurricane Ian in 2022, the owner of one of these roof tile manufacturers, Crown Roof Tiles, decided it was time to expand. The owner wanted to double his production capacity with a new factory, and for the production line he turned to ABECE in particular – a company that started as a forge in Nyköping in 1919 and began developing its machine systems in the 60s. The deal would land at just over SEK 100 million, more than half of ABECE’s turnover.
– To outsiders, it may sound strange that Crown Roof Tiles approached us with such a large deal. But we have been doing this for so long and driven development to such an extent that today we have a world-leading market position. It is mainly us and an Italian company that deliver these systems globally – and I dare say that we are much better than the Italians, says Erik Lindeberg, CEO of ABECE.
Erik Lindeberg, CEO of ABECE.
Cooperates with EKN
ABECE’s big deal with Florida involves building an entire production line, shipping it across the Atlantic, assembling it on site and training the staff. Then it should go like an assembly line: In a production line from ABECE, sand, cement and water come in – and hardened, painted and packaged concrete pails come out. The machine system produces 140 boilers per minute – that’s 50,000 boilers in one shift – and the degree of automation is high.
– We have been on site since August 2023 and are now in the final stages: We are fine-tuning the system and soon they will be in full production. Then they have one of the best production lines in the world, says Erik Lindeberg.
Because the investment was so large, the customer in Florida wanted to buy the production line in installments, something that would have been difficult for ABECE to offer on its own. Therefore, they applied for a guarantee from the government’s EKN, the Export Credit Board, whose mission is to support Swedish exports.
– With the guarantee, we were able to offer the customer a three-year installment plan at the same time as we get paid directly by our bank, this through a loan with EKN’s guarantee as collateral. In practice, the customer then pays to our bank via us – and should they for some reason not be able to pay, EKN takes the risk, says Moa Mossberg.
95 to 98 percent of ABECE’s turnover comes from exports, so this type of collaboration is common for the company. The customer gets an attractive financing solution while ABECE can directly reinvest the payment in their next deal.
– We are already building the next line to England – this is how we will go from SEK 175 to 200 million in turnover this year, concludes Erik Lindeberg.
Check if EKN can help you get YES from the bank
EKN
EKN, the Export Credit Board, has the government’s mandate to promote Swedish exports and the internationalization of Swedish companies. This is done by insuring payments and sharing risks with the exporting company, its subcontractors and banks. The operation is financed with the premiums of the policyholders.
The article is produced by Brand Studio in collaboration with EKN and not an article by Dagens industri
