Strategic Convergence

We are seeking to concentrate a higher proportion of our business activities in our 'sweetspot' of operation – the area where we can expect to enjoy clear market leadership, greater product differentiation, higher margins and greater exposure to the key global trends which are shaping the future and providing opportunities for greater than average long term growth.

This preferred area of operation for IMI is best defined by the convergence of three key attributes:

  • Fluid Technologies
  • Niche Leadership 
  • Growth Drivers

 

Fluid Technologies

Our highly engineered products provide precise and reliable control of fluids and gases, often in critical applications:

  • Control circuit – valves to impede or isolate flow, actuators to control the stroke of the valves valves and positioners / controllers for feedback and control.
  • Type of fluid – steam, gas, oxygen, air, reagents and water.
  • Operating parameters: 
    • Operating pressures 0bar to 660bar
    • Operating temperatures -170°C to +1.600°C
    • Orifice sizes 0.5mm to 3.0m
Niche Leadership

We seek leadership positions in clearly defined global niches where our competencies in Key Account Management and Engineering Advantage can be leveraged to maximum effect.

The core competencies common to all of IMI’s businesses are Key Account Management and Engineering Advantage. IMI is increasing its investment in these two key areas to underpin the Group’s aspirations of accelerating top line growth and delivering further margin improvement.

Market characteristics

Essential to our long term success is understanding the characteristics of the markets we aim to operate in. IMI's key market niches share certain characteristics:

  • Niche global markets of no more than $3-4 billion
  • Market leading positions, typically with market share of over 25%
  • Blue-chip customers with a clear appetite for innovative, differentiated and customised solutions
  • Significant aftermarket.

Key Account Management

Highly talented, customer-focused entrepreneurial-minded teams of people in IMI add long-term value for both customers and ourselves. Developing these skills, understanding the drivers of our customers’ businesses, and our own, and ensuring that we work with the best customer partners, are critical components of our business model. Recognising where value can be added for both parties is a fundamental part of our approach. A centrally-based ‘KAM Academy’ helps train our people and ensure best practice is shared across the Group.

Engineering Advantage

We invest in techniques that improve market understanding and customer insight. We then apply our acquired knowledge and our engineering capabilities to the issues faced by our customers. The result is relevant, bespoke technologies and new products that create real value and strengthen our customer relationships. This core capability effectively engineers solutions that provide advantages for our customers and we refer to this as Engineering Advantage.

Growth Drivers

The global trends shaping our future and providing higher than average growth opportunities for IMI include:

  • Climate Change – with opportunities for IMI to provide solutions for cleaner energy (such as LNG and nuclear), improved energy efficiency and better environmental control
  • Resource Scarcity – with opportunities for IMI in process improvement and automation
  • Urbanisation – with major opportunities for IMI around building design and mass transit infrastructure
  • Ageing Population – with its rising aspirations for a more balanced and healthier lifestyle and an improved quality and longevity of life.

CEO Update

 

“We have carved out a resilient set of results for 2012 in what became a more challenging economic environment as the year progressed.  And we did so whilst preserving our increased investments in sales and engineering, vital to accelerating longer term growth and cementing our leadership position in all our key end market niches.”

Martin J Lamb
Chief Executive
6 March 2013