Lindab's Building Systems enters Africa with General Electric, Heineken

Building products and ventilation company Lindab's Building Systems recently expanded into Africa for the first time with its Astron buildings.

The first building order is for the design, supply and supervision of an 8,500-square-meter manufacturing and services plant for General Electric-Emerald Oil & Gas in Calabar, Nigeria. Carrying a price tag of nearly $3 million, the project is expected to be completed by the end of 2015 at the earliest or the end of 2016 at the latest.

The second building will be located in Anyama, Ivory Coast. About $6 million, the project includes buildings and production units for a new Heineken brewery and is anticipated to be completed sometime in 2016.

"The market diversification is a long-term effort and we are pleased about the developments in Africa with its good opportunities across multiple sectors and industries," Anders Berg, Lindab's president and CEO, said. "Short term, it does not off-set the sharp decline in our Russian and Belarusian markets, but we are continuing to work with both new and existing markets as well as the overall direction and structure of our business. It is still a difficult situation but there are signs of gradual improvements."