Würzburg
3rd Brose Group International Management Conference held in Würzburg
Around 180 specialist and managerial staff from 21 countries attended the Brose Group’s 3rd International Management Conference from 27 to 29 September 2010 at the Vogel Convention Center in Würzburg to discuss the group’s future strategy with the Management Board. Unfortunately, the absence of suitable facilities, like a conference center with associated hotel, made it impossible to hold the event close to the head office in Coburg.
“Our expected revenue of 3.3 billion euros will make 2010 an outstanding year for the group. We are currently seeing high growth rates in all product areas,” Jürgen Otto, CEO of the Brose Group, said at the meeting.
China the most important growth market
Brose expects its sales revenue in Asia to double over the next three years, largely as a result of the group’s business in China. The American market has also stabilized and demand is increasing. The automotive supplier expects sales revenue in North America to grow by 15% per year, reaching the billion euro mark in 2015 and making Brose the second largest supplier of seat adjusters in this region.
The company expects sales of seat systems to go up by a third by 2015. Business in North America is also continuing to grow. In Asia, sales revenue from seat adjusters is expected to triple by 2015.
The electric motor business is also doing well; the results of the reorganization are having a positive impact on current business and the company is benefiting both from an increase in sales in Asia and from the introduction of new technologies in Europe and America. The aim is to achieve 50% revenue growth by 2015 and to defend the group’s position as the second largest motor manufacturer.
In view of Brose’s new strategically important customers in Asia, and the record orders received in 2009, global revenue from closure systems is set to double by 2012.
Brose has successfully established itself as the world market leader for door systems. The main fields of activity in the coming years stem from the mega trends in the industry: lightweight design, efficiency improvements and new functions. As well as strengthening its activities in Asia, Brose will concentrate on qualitative growth based on new door functions. By 2020, annual revenue in this area is set to rise to 2 billion euros.
New customer projects require an expansion of existing manufacturing capacity. To process new customer projects the company will be building or commissioning new production facilities over the next few years in China, Thailand, India, Mexico, Hungary and Russia. Its plants in Tuscaloosa (USA) and Ostrava (Czech Republic) are being extended.
Brose Productivity Award 2010 goes to Coburg, Puebla and Hallstadt plants
At the management conference, the group’s plants in Coburg and Hallstadt (Germany) and its plant in Puebla (Mexico) were presented with the Brose Productivity Award 2010. The Brose Group awards this prize to the plants that achieve exceptional advances in productivity.
This year, the Coburg plant came first, the Brose production facility in Puebla (Mexico) came second, and its Hallstadt plant near Bamberg (Germany) came third.
As Coburg’s General Manager Stefan Krug stressed at the award ceremony, the ongoing improvements in productivity at the Coburg plant are very significant in view of the increasing internationalization of the market. Skilled, motivated employees were, he said, the key to success:“I am proud of my team and thank everyone whose committed efforts have helped us win this important prize in competition with Brose plants around the globe.”