Automotive supplier Neumayer Tekfor expands global presence

The sound economic position of the company has provided the foundation for these new activities. Refinancing carried out in 2009 brought new capital into the company and significantly increased its equity ratio, while the volume of orders at the beginning of the year was also considerably higher than forecasted.

Sales and engineering services for Japan

On 13 January 2010, Neumayer Tekfor established a new subsidiary in Japan; namely, Neumayer Tekfor Japan Ltd., which has three employees and provides Japanese car manufacturers with sales and engineering services. A dedicated Germany-based Japan team is currently processing six such projects. To intensify contact to Japanese car manufacturers in Japan, Neumayer Tekfor had already opened a representative office in greater Tokyo back in June 2008.

An office in Seoul, South Korea, which Neumayer Tekfor set up in 2009 in order to serve Korean car manufacturers, flanks the expansion in Eastern Asia. Asian manufacturing capacity is already available to Neumayer Tekfor in the form of its New Delhi location in India, with further sites in Pune also being evaluated.

Manufacturing in Mexico

In February 2010, Neumayer Tekfor will begin manufacturing at its newly established plant in Irapuato, in the Mexican state of Guanajuato. The plant will produce components for a European roller-element bearing manufacturer based in the region.

To this end, the subsidiary company Tekfor Mexico S.A.C.V. was formed on 26 January 2010, which will initially start with prototype manufacturing and then commence series production in the second half of 2010. It is anticipated that around 300 employees will be working for the company by 2015.

Healthy economic situation

Ulrich Mehlmann, CEO of Neumayer Tekfor Holding GmbH, is confident about 2010, declaring: "Despite the crisis-related reduction in sales, the preliminary 2009 financial statement posts a positive EBITDA result, which may be described as an "in the black" zero. Our order volume for the first quarter of 2010 is already 41 percent higher than last year and 21 percent ahead of target." Moreover, as the company primarily supplies the luxury-car segment and utility vehicle manufacturers, it gained no benefits from the scrapping premium, which Mr Mehlmann now sees as an advantage, remarking that, "As a consequence, we won’t suffer when the regulation comes to an end."

The fact that many rival companies in the field of forming technology failed to weather the 2009 crisis year as successfully and that a number are no longer in the market, is regarded by Mr Mehlmann as an excellent opportunity to increase sales and, above all, to gain a greater share of the global market. "In preparation for this we are expanding our presence and providing global solutions for global customers", stated the CEO.

In a total of 10 plants in Germany, Italy, USA, Brazil and India and with a workforce of around 2,600 employees, the Neumayer Tekfor Group develops and manufactures complex forming technology components and solutions for gearboxes, engines, drivelines and special automotive applications.