Leo Leander Bekaert This is Me

 Web References

1. 1. www.cbn.co.za

   www.cbn.co.za/pressoffice/beta - [Cached]

   Published on: 6/4/2007   Last Visited: 7/12/2007

   The company, founded 125 years ago by Leo Bekaert who invented barbed wire, has an annual turnover in excess of US$800m (R5.6-billion).
   ...
   Bekaert Fencing in Belgium was founded by Leo Leander Bekaert, who invented of barbed wire in 1880 in order to keep cattle from roaming across farmland. In 2005, the worldwide Bekaert Fencing Group was sold by international banking groups, Gilde Investment Bank and CFG in Europe and was taken over via a management buy-out.

2. 2. About Bekaert: History

   www.bekaert.com/eng/ABOUT/Hist - [Cached]

   Published on: 3/2/2003   Last Visited: 3/2/2003

   From a small manufacturing and trading company formed by Leo Leander Bekaert in 1880, Bekaert has grown to become a technology driven Group, having its headquarters in Belgium, and producing and marketing a great variety of products based on its core competences of metal transformation and coating technologies. Its current activities are built around four Business Units. Bekaert has a leading position in Steel Wire, Merchant Products (fences), Steel Cord and is a fast growing producer of advanced materials (Bekaert Advanced Materials).
   
   Leo Leander Bekaert, the Group's founder, started out towards the end of the 19th century by producing barbed wire in answer to farmers' fencing problems. Bekaert embarked on its international growth back in the 20s, first in Western Europe, later in Latin America and then, from the 70s onwards, in North America and Asia. The use of steel cord for rubber reinforcement, especially in radial tyres, played a major role in this international growth. The internationalisation of the Bekaert Group has accelerated in the 90s. Bekaert has achieved its world-wide leadership by taking maximum advantage of growth opportunities in specific niches in fast-growing markets.
   
   Bekaert is currently engaged in a process of renewal, moving away from high-volume manufacturing and into high-margin products with higher added value, based on its core competences. Innovation - the engine driving sustainable growth and profitability - is one of Bekaert's top priorities. The introduction of new products will have a significant impact on Bekaert's future product portfolio. In 2000, for example, Bekaert moved into solar cell and window film production, a good example of a new application of one of the wide range of coating technologies at Bekaert's disposal.