Business

PLASTIC from page 144

THE 6 97 LEXUS CLEARANCE SALE IS
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Italy, the company has succeeded in
becoming an industry name in more
than 50 countries, such as Thailand,
where the word for pipe fitting is
"Plasson."
While the company's sandal-clad
executives readily admit that their
products will never be cheaper than
the competition's, they say that a cus-
tomer who buys Plasson's products is
more interested in quality than cost.
And, if mimicry is success's best
measure, then their boast is not
unfounded. Counterfeiters in Italy,
Cyprus and Gaza have pursued
Plasson's market share in the pipe-fit-
tings sector by developing lower qual-
ity fakes that look just like the origi-
nals. A 20-person factory in a town
west of Gaza City manufactures
Plassonesque pipe fittings, which are
emblazoned with misleading names
such as Plassok.
Israeli distributors buy the coun-
terfeit goods, then sell them locally,
said Larry Schwartz, one of Plasson's
lawyers. "We've had to spend a signif-
icant amount of time and money in
tracking down the fakes," he said.
Despite the company's success,
Plasson has not yet been able to sell
shares to the public. Twice last year,
the company attempted an initial
public offering on the London Stock
Exchange (LSE), a bold move for an
Israeli company manufacturing low-
tech products. While several technol-
ogy companies have succeeded in
going public on London's Alternativ
Investment Market, an offering on
the LSE would have represented a
coup.
In the summer of 1996, however,
Plasson's underwriters decided to
postpone the offering, due to the
political uncertainty that followed
Binyamin Netanyahu's prime minist
rial victory. Then, last October,
arguably due to the riots following
the opening of a second exit for
the Western Wall Tunnel, the market
failed, by a narrow margin, to
generate the minimal demand neede,
to meet LSE regulations, when sever-
al British, German, French and
Italian companies withdrew their
backing.
Despite the past abortive attempts,
Kam says the company is not dis-
couraged. Plasson's management is,
once again, considering a stock
issuance, although questions regard-
ing the where and when are still
being discussed.

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9/19
1997

146

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-

— Jennifer Friedlin