Market leader in electric heaters

Press, 12 August 1985, Page 35

Market leader in electric heaters

PDL Industries Aust. Pty, Ltd, has made a big impact in the Australian electrical appliance market since the company was taken over by PDL Holdings, Ltd, of Christchurch, in July, 1983. The Australian company’s managing director, Mr Terry Clarke, says that the firm has become the market leader in electric heaters in Australia, taking 50 per cent of sales in a market that sells 500,000 units “a season.”

Mr Clarke and four executives from the Australian company were in Christchurch last week for a sales conference which coincided with PDL Holdings’ annual meeting. Mr Clarke says that the Australian company increased its sales 104 per cent in the last financial year, and he expects an increase of at least onethird this year. The company will be marketing five new models of heater in Australia next year, all made in New Zealand. Another move will be into the radiator, or barheater, market, in addition to the fan heaters that it already sells. “The Australian company has a much wider range of products to market than PDL has in New Zealand,” he says. About 40 per cent of the products that PDL Industries Aust, markets come from New Zealand, and the remainder “are sourced

from other countries.” The Australian company was previously known as Goldair Electrical Appliances Pty, Ltd, and owned by Petz, of West Germany, before it was taken over by PDL. Before PDL took over Goldair, the Australian company’s involvement in electric heaters was only a small part of its production. This has grown to the extent that the firm is providing competition for the other main companies in the heater business — Kambrook and Hanimex. PDL Industries Aust, is now a merchandising company, marketing PDL products, which include kettles and irons, after Goldair’s manufacturing plant was transferred to PDL’s fac-

tories in Auckland and Christchurch in January. Goldair had been making products for other customers, but PDL considered that it could use the equipment better by making its own products for export from New Zealand. Before becoming managing director of PDL Industries Aust., Mr Clarke held a similar position in the Australian subsidiary of Ronson, the British company, which had electrical appliance sales amounting to 70 per cent of the total turnover. PDL Industries Aust, employs a staff of 20.