SGL Technologies Composites Holding GmbH, a fully owned subsidiary of SGL Carbon SE, acquires the 50-percent share of BENTELER Carbon Composites Beteiligungs-GmbH in the joint venture BENTELER-SGL GmbH & Co. KG, Paderborn. Thus, SGL Carbon SE becomes the sole owner of the company. A corresponding agreement on the sale, which should be completed by the end of 2017, has been signed by the two shareholders today. The transaction is subject to the usual approval of the relevant authorities.
The agreement is the result of an in-depth analysis of the business portfolios of both companies. For both BENTELER and SGL Group, focus on their core competencies is key part of their respective strategy. Hence, this transaction perfectly matches both companies’ strategies.
“The complete takeover of BENTELER-SGL enables us to expand our serial production capabilities for components made from fiber-reinforced composites. In future, we will be able to offer our customers one-stop-shop solutions along all steps of the value chain, from carbon fibers to materials and components,” explains Jürgen Köhler, CEO of SGL Group. “This serial production expertise will also be made available to other industries. I would like to thank BENTELER for the very close and constructive working relationship over the past almost ten years. We have been truly doing pioneering work in many of our joint projects.”
BENTELER further develops lightweight solutions, serving this important trend in the automotive industry. The company leverages its in-house expertise in aluminum and steel processing. "We will continue our successful partnership with SGL Group in the future to purchase products made of glass or carbon fiber reinforced plastic, where necessary," explains Laurent Favre, CEO of BENTELER Automotive. Laurent Favre continues: "The automotive market is changing rapidly. The sale of our shares in the joint venture enables us to invest more in our core business, in order to actively shape the future of the automotive industry. We are driving developments in the area of electric mobility and offer complete system solutions, as our customers are increasingly outsourcing them. We also see a huge potential in digitization, in cooperations with startups and in growth markets such as China."
The BENTELER-SGL joint venture was founded in 2008. Today, it is considered one of the leading developers and large-scale producers of lightweight composite components (based on fiberglass and carbon fibers) for the automotive industry. In 2016, the joint venture generated sales revenues of around €33 million with a workforce of 221. Its product range includes components such as car roofs, rear spoilers, and leaf springs made from fiber composite materials. Manufacturers such as Audi, BMW, Lamborghini, Porsche and Volvo are among its customers.
Following the acquisition, the company's two sites in Ried and Ort (both located in Austria's Innkreis region) will become part of the Composites – Fibers & Materials (CFM) business unit and will operate under the SGL Group brand. In the CFM business unit, the SGL Group already has strong development and production expertise with regard to fibers, especially for acrylic fibers, oxidized fibers, carbon fibers, and fiber composites. The acquisition of BENTELER-SGL will expand its expertise in the serial production of components. It complements the establishment of the Lightweight and Application Center (LAC) in Meitingen, which was launched in 2016. At the LAC, products and associated manufacturing processes are developed for lightweight components that are suitable for serial production.
"We would like to thank the colleagues of BENTELER-SGL for their commitment over the past years and wish them every success for the future," says Laurent Favre, CEO of BENTELER Automotive.
“We are looking forward to welcoming our colleagues from BENTELER-SGL into our team,” says Andreas Wüllner, Head of CFM at the SGL Group. “Pooling our expertise under one roof will enable us to provide even more finely tailored composite solutions to our customers in the future in order to maximize their success.”
Contact BENTELER Group:
BENTELER International AG
Birgit Held, Vice President Corporate Communications/Marketing
Salzburg, Austria
Phone: +43 662 2283 101040
E-mail: birgit.held@BENTELER.com
Contact SGL Group:
Andreas Pütz, Head of Corporate Communications and Marketing
Phone +49 611 6029-100 / Fax +49 611 6029-101
E-mail: presse@sglgroup.com
www.sglgroup.com
About BENTELER
BENTELER is a leading global company that develops, produces and sells products, systems and services for the automotive, energy and engineering sectors. We are a family-owned firm now in the fourth generation. Our 30,000 employees at 153 locations in 40 countries are passionate about excellence in manufacturing and distribution - in close proximity and collaboration with our customers. Sales in 2016 amounted to 7,423 Million Euros. The three Business Divisions BENTELER Automotive, BENTELER Steel/Tube and BENTELER Distribution are organized under the strategic management holding company BENTELER International AG in Salzburg, Austria. With our technological expertise and strong focus on successful implementation, we develop solutions that make the difference – for customers, employees and society. And we make them happen.
BENTELER. The family of driven professionals. Since 1876.
About the SGL Group – The Carbon Company
The SGL Group is a leading manufacturer worldwide of products and materials made from carbon. The extensive product portfolio ranges from carbon and graphite products, carbon fibers all the way through to composites. The SGL Group’s core expertise comprises the control of high-temperature technologies as well as the deployment of many years’ application and engineering know-how. This is used to exploit the company’s wide materials base. These carbon-based materials combine a number of unique material properties such as very good conductivity of electricity and heat, resistance to heat and corrosion as well as lightweight construction coupled with high firmness. The level of demand for the SGL Group’s high-performance materials and products is increasing due to the industrialization of the growth regions of Asia and Latin America and the ongoing substitution of traditional construction materials by new materials. The SGL Group’s products are deployed in the automotive and chemicals industries as well as in the semiconductor, solar, LED industry segments and in the field of lithium-ion batteries. Carbon-based materials and products are also used in wind energy, aviation and space travel as well as in the defense industry.
With 34 production locations in Europe, North America and Asia as well as a service network in over 100 countries, the SGL Group is an enterprise with a global orientation. In the 2016 financial year, approx. 4,000 employees generated 769.8 million euros in sales revenue. Its Head Office is based in Wiesbaden / Germany
Important note:
To the extent that our press release contains forward-looking statements, the latter are based on information that is available at present and on our current forecasts and assumptions. Forward-looking statements, by their very nature, entail known as well as unknown risks and uncertainties that may lead to actual developments and events differing substantially from the forward-looking assessments. Forward-looking statements must not be understood to be guarantees. Instead, future developments and events depend on a large number of factors; they comprise various risks and imponderables and are based on assumptions that may possibly turn out not to be appropriate. These include unforeseeable changes to fundamental political, economic, legal and societal conditions, particularly in the context of our main customers’ industries, such as electric steelmaking, the competitive situation, interest and exchange rate trends, technological developments as well as other risks and uncertainties. We perceive additional risks e.g. in pricing developments, unforeseeable events in the environment of companies acquired and Group member companies as well as in current cost savings programs from time to time. The SGL Group assumes no obligation and does not intend to adjust or otherwise update these forward-looking statements either.