Statement

The growing demand for renewable energies and fuels is being driven by economic considerations, the quest for security of supply and the insight we have gained into the causes and consequences of climate change as well as the question of how we are going to deal with resources worldwide. The reasons for the growth in demand may be varied, but one thing is clear: this area is seeing the development of completely new markets.

So far, this demand has largely been met by small and medium-sized companies, some of which work in technology development and some of which supply the feedstock as in the case of biofuels. Well defined and large scale structures, as we know them from classic industries, are still in the process of being formed. Nevertheless, these are necessary in order to produce renewable energies on a bigger scale and therefore achieve a broader impact.

Based on our industrial orientation, we want to build a bridge between young, creative technology providers who do not yet have the necessary weight for large scale projects, investors who want to invest in this market, and traditionally positioned industries who are mainly focused on marketing their existing portfolios. As a general contractor for large scale industrial projects, we are one of only a small number of companies who possess the structures required to implement industrial-style ecological projects. Our openness towards new technologies gives young companies with sound concepts an opportunity to turn ideas into reality.

Turning Ideas into Reality. We have been following this maxim successfully in the classic industries for years. It is used wherever large scale projects cannot be paid for from petty cash. We give our partners and customers comprehensive support, from the initial project idea right through to the sale of the finished product. And this maxim is also the starting point for projects in the area of renewable energies. This arises from the fact that there is a wealth of ideas in this field, and only a few who can turn them into reality.

The basis for this is our service profile, which is geared towards carrying out complex and comprehensive large scale projects as a general contractor. The most important elements in this connection are project development, financing, project management, the integration of various project partners and system integration - in other words, ensuring that complex technical and commercial processes are completed in a smooth and integrated way.

This profile enables us to clearly stand out from our competitors. We pursue a business model in which we deal with the project development of profitable industrial plants ourselves. Financing models, provided by us, play an important role in this regard. In some cases, we also have a stake in the equity of a project or a project company. For the financing banks, this is often an indication of the reliability of our project partners and the profitability of our projects.

This also allows us to spread the risk fairly among the partners and enable everyone involved to have a realistic idea of the kind of finances required for a particular project. This business model, in which we aim to be the best possible partner for our customers, clearly contrasts with the usual plant construction model of the lowest priced supplier who normally wins the contract. In these cases, conflicts between customers and plant construction companies tend to be the rule rather than the exception.

If we have a stake in the equity of a project, our partnership with our customers extends beyond the construction of a plant. In such cases, we deal not only with project development and project management but also become partners in the operation of the plant. This is a particularly attractive option for our customers if they want to grow with their plants. An expansion involving new plants is always more sustainable against the background of shared experience from the operation of existing plants than it is without this experience. In the case of new plants, this applies to both project development and project management. The accumulated experience can then be "built into" the new plants straight away.

"Built-in experience" is just as important to our customers as our profile as a general contractor. This means that we can deal with all those aspects that are not part of their core business. Given plant volumes of between 50 million euros and 1.5 billion euros, this range of services plays a major role.

Reliability in the implementation of projects is valuable in its own right. We are interested in maintaining long-term business relationships based on reliability where we are more than just a supplier to our customers. Our aim is to become a partner. By the same token, we adopt the same approach to our other business partners: contractors, financial institutions and trade partners also have the opportunity of becoming long-term partners with us.

One milestone on this path, and a visible sign of the sustainability of our business model, was a "strategic partnership agreement" signed with the South African government in 2007. MAN Ferrostaal is the first company to meet offset obligations worth 3 billion euros in this country. This creates trust; trust on which we like to build, and which we would like to pass on.