2024 marks one hundred years since our company was founded in Zwijndrecht, the Netherlands. Piet van Leeuwen started his company with a batch of pipes. In one hundred years’ time, this one-person company grew into a globally operating company active in 32 countries. Over the last century we acquired a strong position globally as a leading pipe and tube distributor that each and every day offers its customers ‘more than tubes’. We are celebrating our anniversary under the motto ‘Connecting Worlds’. This stands for our international network with dedicated teams connected with customers and suppliers all over the world. Connecting Worlds is all about continuous development and sustainable growth, customer focus, networks, a close-knit company culture, international cooperation and innovative entrepreneurship.
After seeing market demand decline in the second half of last year in comparison to very strong demand in prior years, at the beginning of 2024, it appears that market demand continues to be moderate. Our order book is well-stocked but is not increasing. In Europe, we are observing a clearly lower level of activity among customers in the Industry segment. There are numerous uncertainties in the world, confidence is moderate and it would appear that the market is adopting a wait-and-see attitude. Globally, we are seeing a positive demand trend in the Energy market. For 2024, we are seeing a positive trend in the energy projects market, and, in part on the basis of our globally strong starting position in this market, we expect order intake to be good here this year.
As a consequence of the lower demand in the steel market, prices declined throughout all of last year; this decline now appears to have levelled off. Producers of pipe and tube products continue to be confronted with upward pressure on their costs. Investments relating to making steel production sustainable are massive and may potentially exert upward pressure on prices in a market with stable demand. Further cooperation is necessary, and further consolidation in the steel market is presenting itself.
We have invested a great deal in our warehouses, logistics and storage, and IT systems in recent years. We expect this will enable us to further improve our services and productivity over the coming years. In 2024, we will continue to work on improving our processes and methods of working on the basis of our continuous innovation program. In addition, we will continue to invest in our network and in our product range. We aim to continue to grow autonomously this way, although we will also continue to be active in the area of acquisitions.
Van Leeuwen’s over 2,400 proud employees provide custom solutions that each and every day connect customers, suppliers and business relations with each other. Our 100 years of experience contributes to mapping out a sustainable, innovative course with which we, as a family business, also take care of the next generation. We are proud of these 100 years. With our long-standing experience and deeply rooted knowledge, we continue to offer our customers the very best and continue to develop our company.
Zwijndrecht, the Netherlands, 21 March 2024
Management Board
P.L. Rietberg (Chairman)
J.M. Sassen
