Draexlmaier Group (Fritz Draexlmaier GmbH & Co. KG) Business Report FY ended Dec. 2017

Recent Years

Financial Overview

-In the fiscal year ended December 31, 2017, the Company had net sales of EUR 4.1 billion, remains flat over the previous year’s sales.

Awards

-The Company announced that it has received "Overall Supplier EMEA 2016" from FCA, and with that, the best supplier in the categories of Quality, Technology and Partnership in the EMEA region (Europe, Middle East and Africa). The Company makes the center consoles and door panels for the Maserati Quattroporte, as well as instrument panels, center consoles and door panels for the Maserati Ghibli. This year, the Company also started making the instrument panels and center consoles for the new Maserati Levante. (From a press release on January 17, 2017)

R&D Facilities

-The Company's central research facility is the Draexlmaier Technology Center (DTZ) in Vilsbiburg, Germany. Additional series development centers are located in Munich, Ingolstadt, and Boeblingen, Germany; and Detroit, Michigan, U.S.

R&D Structure

-The Company has over 2,000 employees working in research and development.

-The Company has cooperated with the following research institutions and universities on various projects:

Fraunhofer Institute for Reliability and Microintegration in Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany
Technical University of Munich Foundation
Rhine-Westphalian Technical College in Aachen, Germany
Technical College in Landshut, Germany

Patents

-The Company announces that it applied for 191 patents in 2016. That means that the number of patent applications has doubled since 2014 and even tripled since 2012. The Company has filed patent applications for over 1,000 inventions since the eighties – half of them are just five years old or even younger. In 2016, the Company registered innovative solutions, particularly for interior lighting, interior modules, electrical system parts and new types of production means. (From a press release on February 16, 2017)

Investments outside Germany

-The Company announced that confirmed that it will open a USD 13.1 million plant in Valle de Santiago, Mexico. It will be the company’s sixth production facility in Mexico. Other plants are located in Lagos de Moreno, Matehuala, San Luis Potosi¸ San Miguel de Allende and Puebla. Draexlmaier builds electrical and electronic components, as well as interior parts for BMW, Audi, Jaguar, Land Rover and Mercedes-Benz.