German scaffolding specialist Wilhelm Layher, Europe's leading scaffold manufacturer will be represented at its own stand at the Big 5 show, where it will present several scaffold parts from the standard production range and some very interesting solutions as well as scaffolding news, says area sales manager Frank Gerlach.

"Layher has two core philosophies. First, it doesn't involve itself in the provision of contracting services - and believes that those who do are companies with a weak customer base - and second, it aims not to rent equipment to end users because this also takes away the business from its customers, the scaffolding contractors," he says.

Underpinning this are the solid values of a family-run company, now in its third generation, with experienced and loyal employees.

"Our company is very stable," says managing director Dr Helmut Kreller.

Layher claims that this stability, and its wide customer base - the company has customers in shipbuilding, refinery, power plant and entertainment industries as well as the construction sector - means that it is well-positioned to withstand any slowdown in the market, such as Germany has experienced in recent years.

In fact, sales turnover for the company last year was in the region of DM500 million ($220 million), an increase on several per cent on 1999. A big strength of the company is that it has such a huge customer base, the biggest and the smallest.

Another advantage for Layher is that almost half of its production is exported: the company sells to more than 40 countries worldwide, including Europe (30-35 per cent), Asia, North and South America, the Middle East and Africa.

Gerlach elaborates: "In many countries of the Middle East, there is a big demand for flexible, safe and cost-effective scaffold systems. Non-existing or low safety regulations on the quality of scaffolding systems lead, on many construction sites, to avoidable accidents and delays in erection and dismantling of the scaffolds.

"Layher's Allround offers reassuring safety, according to the strictest German and European standards, a high versatility in use even for very difficult structures, extremely fast erection times with bolt-free connections, which again leads to shorter shutdown periods especially in refineries and power plants and hence to higher efficiency."

He continues: "Layher's aim for the future is to steadily build up its exports, possibly by a further 10 to 20 per cent to 70 per cent of total production in three or four years. However, Layher is not looking to increase turnover at any price."

"As a family-owned company, we are not forced to increase our business very quickly, we want to build it up step by step," says Dr Kreller. "Our main interest is to gain very long-term customer relationships."

Wilhelm Layher is located in the southern part of Germany and has been owned by the Layher family for 55 years. The company has become one of Europe's leading manufacturers in the scaffold sector in the meantime.

Layher products are precisely manufactured by more than 1,000 dedicated employees with the use of the most modern machines and are distributed by 12 subsidiaries plus representatives or distribution partners worldwide. "All scaffold components are permanently under strict Layher quality controls," says Gerlach. "Layher is certified to DIN ISO 9001 and 9002. Therefore, high precision and permanent quality can be assured under the 'Made in Germany' banner."

Layher's systems will be on show at stand 3B110 in hall 3.