Belgium’s Associated Weavers to Post 1st Half Loss Belgium’s Associated Weavers to Post 1st Half Loss Ronse, Belgium, May 27 Associated Weavers International, leading producer of tufted and woven carpet, will not be able to conclude the first half of 2005 with a profit.
On May 31, Associated Weavers International will conclude its first six months. For the tufting division it will be concluded with a loss because both the margins and the volumes are under pressure. Removing the pressure on the margins resulting from extremely high raw materials prices is taking longer than anticipated because in the meantime consumer spending for interior decoration has dropped, particularly in the United Kingdom. Furthermore the carpet sector is still confronted with overcapacity. The combination of all these factors makes it extremely difficult to raise our retail prices sufficiently, states Henri Van Dierdonck, Man