Unicon strengthens its position as Norway's leading concrete supplier

Today, Unicon, a company in the FLS Group, has signed an agreement to purchase five concrete plants in Bergen and Ålesund in Norway with effect from 1 October 2003. The seller is NCC Roads AS which has decided to wind up its ready-mix concrete activities in Norway.

The acquisition consolidates Unicon's position in Norway. Unicon made a serious move into the Norwegian market in 2000 with the acquisition and integration of seven companies which immediately made it Norway's largest producer of ready-mix concrete. The acquisitions in Bergen and Ålesund allow Unicon to serve its customers in all the major business locations in Norway.

The acquisition is another step towards Unicon's strategic goal to become a market leader within production, distribution and sale of ready-mix concrete in Scandinavia, after the divestment in 2002 of a number of non-core activities.

The acquired companies have a turnover of about NOK 85m and employ approximately 30 people.

Today, Unicon has activities in Norway, Denmark, Sweden and Poland. Subsequent to the acquisition the turnover of the company will be in the range of DKK 1.5bn based on a total workforce of 720 distributed among the four countries. Unicon has 26 plants in Denmark, 28 in Norway, eight in Sweden and nine in Poland.

The acquisition will have a positive effect on the FLS Group's earnings, but will not affect the Group's previously announced earnings expectations for the year.

FLS Industries A/S
Corporate Public Relations