Doors Division
The Doors Division, which has become the new Arbonia after the closing of the sale of the Climate Division in late February 2025, consists of the two Business Units Wood Solutions and Glass Solutions.
With the companies Prüm, Garant, Invado, RWD Schlatter, Joro, and, after this year's acquisitions, with Dimoldura, Rozière and Lignis as well, the Wood Solutions Business Unit is one of Europe’s leading providers of interior doors and frames made of wood materials. In addition to the business unit’s previous five production sites, three of which are in Germany and one each are in Switzerland and Poland, further sites have been added in Spain, Portugal, France, and the Czech Republic.
As a specialist for shower enclosures and glass systems, the Glass Solutions Business Unit offers impressive solutions for all generations, lifestyles, and types of residences. Thanks to its strong brands Kermi, Koralle, Baduscho, and Interwand, it is the market leader in Europe. In addition to the integrated production sites in Germany and the locally oriented manufacturing in Switzerland, it operates internationally through distribution companies.
Market trends
The market development in 2024 was characterized by geopolitical uncertainties, increased energy prices, and a weakening economic situation. These factors impacted the demand in several markets. Despite these challenges, the Doors Division was able to maintain its market position and even expand it in selected segments through targeted measures.
The Doors Division achieved a revenue of CHF 553.8 million in the 2024 reporting year, which corresponds to an increase of 10.4% compared to the previous year (CHF 501.6 million). Organic growth (when adjusted for currency and acquisition effects, in other words, without Dimoldura/Rozière and Lignis) amounted to -5.3%. EBITDA without one-time effects increased by 23.7% from CHF 41.4 million in the previous year to CHF 51.2 million (CHF 48.6 million with one-time effects). This corresponds to an increase in the EBITDA margin from 8.3% in the previous year to 9.2%. EBIT without one-time effects came to CHF 3.9 million (CHF 1.3 million with one-time effects), which corresponds to a change of 20.1% compared to the same period in the previous year (CHF 3.3 million).
The Doors Division benefited from its position as the market leader in continental Europe, supported by the strategic acquisitions of Dimoldura, Rozière, and Lignis. These acquisitions additionally made the Doors Division the market leader in Spain (Dimoldura) and in the project business in the Czech Republic (Lignis), a position that it already holds in Switzerland with RWD Schlatter. In Germany, Prüm and Garant achieved a market share of around 20%. These acquisitions have therefore considerably reduced the dependence on the German market, with the result that the revenue share for Germany is now less than 50%, compared to over 60% originally.
The difficult market situation in German residential construction continued in 2024. After a 29% decline in building permits in 2023, a further decline of 18% was expected in 2024. Completions in residential construction are likely to decrease by 22%. The main reasons for this were higher interest rates, a continuing shortage of skilled workers in the construction industry, as well as increasing material costs. The renovation demand is and remains high since many doors installed in the 1990s have to be replaced due to their life cycle of approximately 30 years. At the same time, the increasing demand for housing in urban areas as well as the high net immigration helped to stabilise the renovation markets. Nevertheless, renovation also remained at a low level in 2024 due to the above-mentioned reasons.
Prüm was able to increase its revenue in Switzerland thanks to the new logistics centre at RWD Schlatter. This warehouse makes it possible to store doors directly on site and distribute them efficiently to customers from Switzerland – an important step towards strengthening the market position in the region. In Germany, the markets for standard doors and functional doors developed differently, with functional doors remaining more stable. Although Joro was also affected by the volume decrease, it was able to partially compensate for this with the Mandarin Hotel in Vienna. Arbonia flexibly reacted to this volume decrease and adapted its structures, which also partly involved a reduction in personnel. By increasing the company’s own energy production, it was additionally possible to reduce the energy costs overall, but not to the planned extent since grid fees also rose at the same time. The greenhouse gas emissions (CO2e) of Arbonia (Scope 1 and 2) have been reduced by 6% in comparison to the previous year.
Renovation activities benefited from government subsidy programmes for energy efficiency, especially in cities. Non-residential construction showed a more stable development. Building permits are only expected to have decreased by 1% in 2024. However, an increase in permits is expected for residential as well as non-residential construction starting in 2025, although this will probably not be reflected in completions until 2026. The Doors Division benefited from its strong position in project business as well as from the completed integration of Interwand, a leading supplier of glass partitions for the office area. This company now procures all of its required glass from within Arbonia. Public investments in infrastructure projects, especially in schools and hospitals, additionally contributed to a stable demand in the project business area. The introduction of new fire protection and sound insulation regulations additionally increased the demand for specialised door solutions.
RWD Schlatter likewise benefited from the commissioning of the new logistics centre in Roggwil and can now offer its customers a wider product portfolio, thereby increasing revenue with specialist partners. Switzerland was also less strongly affected by inflation than the euro zone due to the CHF/EUR exchange rate. As a consequence, prices for construction materials increased less sharply, and the interest rate hike was not as drastic. However, new construction in Switzerland decreased by –0.5%, while the renovation segment was able to maintain the previous year's level. In addition, other building construction, apart from homes, developed significantly better and increased compared to the previous year. This enabled the new sales organisation in western Switzerland to increase its revenue further.
The Spanish company Dimoldura has been part of the Doors Division since the closing on 16 May 2024. With this acquisition, the division has entered an attractive market, because in contrast to the European market, the construction industry is growing on the Iberian Peninsula. For example, in Spain, new residential construction is expected to grow by 0.5% in 2024 and renovations by 0.7%. With a strong focus on the target groups of DIY stores and retailers, Dimoldura generates most of its revenue in residential construction. In this area, Dimoldura was able to increase its revenue and gain market shares, growing by more than 5% in Spain.
Rozière specialises in the production of solid wood doors, which are primarily sold through specialist retailers in France. France is in a similar situation to Germany, however, and continues to suffer from high material prices and higher interest rates. As a consequence, a clear double-digit decrease is excepted for residential construction in 2024, which will be offset somewhat by renovation in residential construction. This is expected to be slightly above that of the previous year.
The domestic market of Invado (Poland) was affected by high cost inflation. Even though this has noticeably decreased, new regulatory requirements, such as obligatory playgrounds for children or maintaining greater distances between buildings, have kept construction costs high. However, Invado was able to change its customer structure favourably and increase revenues in Central Europe. The company entered the German DIY market and was able to increase revenues in the Czech Republic, Bulgaria, and Hungary.
Since the closing as of 1 July 2024, the Czech project business specialist Lignis has also been part of the division. This company generates 100% of its revenue in the project business, with a strong focus on the Czech Republic and Slovakia. New construction, which is therefore essential, has developed better in the Czech Republic, as well as in Eastern Europe as a whole, than in Central Europe. Lignis was able to increase its revenue compared to the previous year and has also acquired further market shares at the same time.
Kermi and Bekon-Koralle also faced challenges from the decline in residential construction and higher energy costs. Due to the revenue decline, Bekon-Koralle had to purchase relatively fewer external installation services than in the previous years. This made it possible to maintain the margins. At the same time, other business areas considerably contributed to the positive overall development: Interwand, which achieved its highest revenue in the past five years in the last financial year, is especially noteworthy. Arbonia Glassysteme (AGS) also had to deal with a revenue decline due to the decrease in demand from other companies in the Glass Solutions Business Unit; however, it was able to compensate for this through business with third parties.
The strategic acquisitions and the specialisation of the production sites also allow the Doors Division to offer a comprehensive product portfolio for specialist retailers, DIY stores, and project business. The latter is supported by new European licences for technical doors that were issued in December and will facilitate the expansion into further markets as well as support the expansion of market shares in existing markets.
Products, technology, and innovations
One of the most important differentiating features of doors is the edging technology, since the edging is the most technologically demanding part of door manufacturing. At the same time, the door edge is also the most exposed part of a door and is affected the most by damage such as impacts. The premium edge sold by the Prüm and Garant brands, which gained further market shares in 2024, is an example of product differentiation and innovation, which is why Invado has followed RWD Schlatter and also added these edge technologies to its product range, which are frequently used in the project business and especially in hospitals.
In addition, the Glass Solutions Business Unit has developed the KermiEXTRA range further. Brushed metallic surfaces give the MENA hinged shower enclosure a high-quality design, while new coloured and textured glass offers individual design options. The Vision Sun textured glass provides a trendy look, and an expanded selection of décors is based on current designs in interior decoration.
An additional innovation was developed with the new sustainable door, which has a linoleum surface and a positive CO2 footprint. This means that the raw material absorbs more CO2 than is released during processing. Furthermore, membership in the Colour Network, an association of interior decorators, allows products to be developed and coordinated with the annually defined trend colour, so that doors can be better coordinated with interior design.
The division’s digital offering was also expanded. The Prüm Digital and Garant Digital concepts were further developed in order to offer partners more transparency, infotainment, speed, as well as process simplification and stabilisation. Linking these platforms with DOORit makes it possible to offer end-to-end digital ordering processes in the future, from end customers to retailers to manufacturers.
Outlook
The Doors Division is cautiously optimistic about the 2025 financial year. On the one hand, targeted measures have been taken to strengthen the doors business in the past few months, so that the new Arbonia is considerably more robust than in the past. These measures include, for example, the acquisitions of Dimoldura and Lignis, which reduce the dependence on Germany and simultaneously open up other attractive markets, among other things. In addition, the automation and digitisation of our production plants allow higher productivity, efficiency, and flexibility with the same number of employees or even fewer employees because of the shortage of skilled workers. The Doors Division remains well positioned even in challenging times due to its long-standing customer relationships and an established sales network. In addition, innovative projects such as the expansion of the product portfolio through Interwand and the cultivation of regional markets will promote further growth. The focus on sustainability and digitisation will also play a key role.
On the other hand, the situation in Germany, which is still the largest market, is likely to remain tense, even if the renovation market is expected to recover further and the demand for new housing remains high. The Swiss market is also likely to stagnate at its currently good level. The markets in Eastern Europe and the Iberian Peninsula, which have become more important, are expected to recover from the crisis much earlier and experience further market growth, respectively. The French market, which is slightly less important to Arbonia, is likely to remain challenging in the coming year.
Beyond the financial year that has started, the new Arbonia has a positive outlook on the future, as important factors such as energy costs have stabilised while becoming less dependent on price trends due to the expansion of capacities for self-produced energy. However, if the next German government decides to take measures to promote new construction (of homes) or to strengthen the economy, the development of the construction industry may also substantially recover much sooner. In addition, the strategic measures taken the last few years have created the basis for benefiting from an upturn starting in 2025. The focus is on the consolidation of existing markets, the development of new distribution channels, and the continuous optimisation of processes. These initiatives will enable the new Arbonia to strengthen its market position and achieve sustainable growth.
As part of Arbonia Next25 in March 2025, Arbonia will present more in-depth information as well as its new branding, positioning, and entire product portfolio to customers, investors, and suppliers during a 2-week, in-house trade fair in Erfurt, Germany.
Highlights
