Husky outlines plan for 2006 (December 12, 2005)

Husky Injection Molding Systems Inc.’s new CEO John Galt made his public debut at Husky’s shareholder meeting last week, where he outlined Husky’s strategy for the coming year.
The company’s founder and former CEO, Robert Schad, retired earlier this year.
Galt said Husky will continue bolstering its global operations and further differentiate itself from competitors by offering products and processes that can’t be found anywhere else.
“We have a good platform. We must continue to evolve; we cannot sleep,” he said.
The firm will also work to build stronger relationships with its customers.
“If we keep customer relations at the transactional level then we will not be successful,” Galt said.
However, the fourth quarter (Q4) of 2005 saw Husky’s revenues in one of its key markets, beverage packaging, decrease seven per cent compared with Q4 2004, but Galt predicts 2006 will be more profitable. Orders for Q1 2006 are up 27 per cent over the same time last year, he said.
Galt said Husky still has plenty of markets to explore with its beverage packaging platform. Brand owners are further trying to differentiate their bottles through more elaborate packaging, providing Husky with new opportunities. As well, emerging markets like PLA-based bottles is a new area for which Husky can optimize its equipment. As well, polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles account for only 30 per cent of materials used for beverage packaging, meaning Husky has further opportunities for growth in this area.
Additionally, the rise of the middle class in Asia means domestic demand in countries like China and India will rise. As a result, domestic manufacturing, and demand for machinery, will increase as well.
Galt said Husky also plans to put more emphasis on magnesium molding, or thixo-molding in the automotive sector in 2006. In 2005, Husky saw its orders increase 30 per cent over 2004 for machinery to process automotive components, both thermoplastic and magnesium.
In Q1 2006, orders were down 12 per cent from Q4 2005.
Galt also said Husky sees consumer electronics as a growth area for Husky, especially with thixo-molding. Magnesium opens up further opportunities for improving the design of handheld devices, like cellphones, and can offer functionality that plastics cannot.