When Claudius Moor joined Arbonia as Head of Strategy and Business Development in 2015, the company had a reputation for being a jack-of-all-trades – producing excellent products, but lagging behind its competitors when it came to market share.
“There were a lot of products under the Arbonia umbrella, yet we weren’t the market leader in Europe in any one of our categories,” Moor tells The CEO Magazine.
The company was structured as a conglomerate, comprising four key divisions: building technology (including climate products such as heating pumps, radiators and underfloor heating), windows, doors and showers.
“As Head of Strategy, I put it forward that it would be better for Arbonia, in the long run, to focus on one single product category, and within that category, become the clear number one in Europe,” he explains.
An extensive analysis was undertaken, and the conclusion was reached that there was one division out of the four that offered the largest potential in the long run: doors.
So in 2021, Arbonia sold its windows division to Denmark’s VKR Holding, owners of the clear market leader VELUX. More recently, in 2025, its climate division was acquired by China’s Midea Group, a conglomerate almost 100 times larger in size and one of the global players in a market where mid-size companies, like Arbonia, struggled to compete.
Opening doors
That’s not the same in the door market, which is more Europe-focused and where mid-size companies have a greater foothold. Having restructured its shower (or sanitary equipment) division and folded it into the doors business as a glass solutions business unit, Arbonia is now in a position to push ahead with its clear target: to be the number one manufacturer of doors in Europe.
Significant progress toward that target has been made, and Arbonia is currently in the silver medal position in the market.
“When I started, the door business’ revenue was €70 million [US$80.6 million]. Today we’re at €640 million [US$737 million],” Moor reveals.
And the story isn’t finished yet.
“Our goal for the next three to four years is to become the clear market leader in Europe, generating over €1 billion [US$1.2 billion] in revenue in the door business,” he adds.
The road map to get it there is called the Arbonia One Strategy.
“For us, it’s much more than simply revenue,” he says. “Arbonia One also means we have one major brand in the end.”
Advertisement
Right now, the company is represented in the door market under a dozen or so brand names. Yet the time has come to consolidate this into one name: Arbonia. As it stands, there’s no single established brand name in the door market.
“We are launching Arbonia as the new brand for doors,” Moor explains. “We want to establish Arbonia as the most desirable door brand in Europe over the next few years.”
Evolving technology
For Moor, the choice to settle on doors was a simple one.
“I was fully convinced about the potential of the door business for Arbonia,” he explains. “It’s different from Arbonia’s other business, especially because we really only have European competition.”
Doors, by their very nature, are too big and heavy to be shipped across the world, which means that there’s little by the way of Chinese and Indian manufacturers clamoring for market share.
As part of the streamlining, Arbonia acquired three door businesses in 2016, while Moor was still Head of Strategy and Business Development: Prüm, Garant and Invado. Several other acquisitions have followed.
In 2020, Moor was appointed CEO of Arbonia’s door division. From there, it was a logical step into the Group CEO role this year.
Evolution is nothing new at Arbonia, which began in 1874 when Franz Josef Forster founded a coppersmith’s shop in Arbon, Switzerland.
Today, progress is driven by urbanization or the need for doors to be many things in one: protect from fire, provide security and reduce noise. Sustainable ambitions, including locally sourced natural wood and an increase in the use of recycled materials, are another driver.
Advertisement
Then there’s the transformation that digitalization is a catalyst for. Even though cars, for instance, are almost all opened with a digital key nowadays, doors still remain resolutely traditional with their key access.
That’s an area of huge opportunity for Moor. The company has acquired a 50 percent stake in KIWI, a market leader in keyless access technology, as it looks to push digital access.
“Opening the entrance to your flat with your smartphone is a trend that we can really see evolving,” he says.
The Arbonia ecosystem
Unsurprisingly, given the change he has driven during his decade at Arbonia, Moor is encouraging a risk-taking culture in the business.
“Innovation only comes by taking risks,” he points out. “Even if two out of five ideas work, that’s better than not taking any risks at all. I think, compared to our rivals, we are very innovative.”
What also sets the company apart is the Arbonia ecosystem.
“We want to support our clients across the entire life cycle of our doors,” Moor says. “Compared to other companies in our industry who simply manufacture the doors and then they’re done, we have established an Arbonia ecosystem where we manage the entire life cycle of the doors, including maintenance, service and replacements.”
An entire web of partners has evolved, from architects to hinge manufacturers and the likes of KIWI.
Everything is lined up to pinpoint precision to achieve Moor’s goal of being the market leader in Europe. Yet he is also open to seeing what’s through the other doors he and his team come across along the journey.
“You always have to keep an open mind for new challenges and new ideas, and you should have a high level of flexibility,” he advises. “Otherwise, if you just follow your master plan and nothing else, you will miss a lot of great opportunities.”
