A strategic approach to licensing 

At Xella, licensing means building long-term partnerships. We share our renowned brands, technical know-how, and market insights with selected partners who, in turn, contribute to the global success of AAC. Furthermore, our network helps us keep updated on the AAC technical applications in other parts of the world.  
With several years of experience, Xella serves as a central hub for its licensees, offering guidance, support, and access to an expert community. Our licensing approach involves the sale of brand rights and access to proprietary knowledge. Partners pay to use Xella’s premium brands Ytong and Hebel and benefit from a comprehensive support system. The license team acts as interface for partners, coordinating internal sourcing and ensuring high service levels across departments including engineering, R&D, legal, marketing, and sales.  

“Each year, we handle around 100 cases,” reports Andrey Bashkatov, Director of License and Export Business at Xella, “with support allocated to the relevant teams to ensure smooth operations and strategic alignment.” 

From first contact to production: the licensing journey 

The Xella licensing follows a structured and thorough process to ensure that our license partners are well-prepared and supported: 

What license partners receive 

Licensees become part of the Xella family, benefiting from the premium brand recognition of Ytong and Hebel, as well as customized consulting in technology, marketing, and sales. The partnership includes sales and product management support, continuous updates to brand guidelines, marketing materials, and corporate design manuals. Licensees can also rely on early quality checks, access to R&D services and technical documentation, and the latest research findings. Access to export deliveries, online training, a used equipment pool, and purchasing cooperation are included, too. These services ensure that our partners maintain high standards and stay competitive in their markets. 

“Xella paid special attention to the technical and technological process. Specialists always stay in touch and are always ready to answer any questions and solve problems that arise during production,” Ayubkhon Nuritdinov, General Director YTONG Uzbekistan, reports.

Global reach and success stories

Xella’s license network spans continents, with long-standing partners in e.g., Turkey which has 6 plants and has been active for more than 60 years, in Uzbekistan where the market grew extensively in the last 5 years, or in China, a big player in the AAC landscape and in India with its rapidly growing AAC market. And in Texas, USA, we have a new Hebel partner as of March 2025. And there's also license business in Japan, one of the oldest ones, as well as in Australia, Mexico and South Africa. 

In addition, with Ytong Turk and Ytong China, we are positioned in such a way that we can also export from here and thus serve large projects with substantial volumes worldwide. 

A growing market and positive outlook

The AAC market is expanding beyond Europe, and Xella’s license business is growing with it. According to Andrey Bashkatov, who has led the division for more than 2 years, he sees “very positive signs and energy; the combination of strong brands, technical expertise, and global demand positions Xella as a leader in AAC licensing”.

This became visible at the “License partner meeting” at the T&F facilities in September, which brought together international partners from Turkey, the USA (Texas), Australia, and China, among others. They discussed the marketing approach, trends, and future of AAC, learned about seismic solutions and robotization in construction, and visited the research laboratories at Xella T&F and as well as the Ytong plant in Brück.
Hosted by Andrey Bashkatov and Thomas Bois, COO of the Xella Group and accompanied by Group CEO Christophe Clemente, the event reinforced the strength and shared commitment of the Xella license community. “Through our licensing business, we have the possibility to perfectly bring our strong brands and technical expertise to markets outside of Europe and so spreading the AAC excellence around the globe”, Thomas Bois said and continued: “It also gives us insight into what is generally happening outside Europe, which could one day lead to an agreement with a partner to become part of Xella or to establish a joint venture, too.”