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5. Leoni AG Business Report FY ended Dec. 2018

Leoni AG Business Report FY ended Dec. 2018

Business Partnership

-The Company and Diehl have agreed a strategic partnership covering battery systems for electric and hybrid vehicles. The two companies will in future be working together on energy and data transmission as well as heat management across the entire value creation process. The strategic partnership between the Company and Diehl will enable the two companies to provide for energy and data distribution as well as interconnection within the high-voltage battery of an electric vehicle. In terms of products, the partnership will initially concentrate on the following: cell contacting systems and module connectors, the battery management system as well as heat-conducting solutions and management. (From a press release on October 5, 2018)

Innovative technologies at the International Suppliers Fair (IZB)

-Announced that it will showcase innovative technologies for electromobility at the International Suppliers Fair (IZB) in Wolfsburg. The Company will illustrate the wide variety of its internationally approved cables as well as solutions for, among other things, fast charging technology, power supply with high-voltage cables and its LEONiQ digital cable technology. Leoni has developed a special HPC cable for liquid-cooled charging systems so that the temperatures in the cable and on the connector do not exceed a set limit. Thanks to LEONiQ – Leoni’s innovative cable technology – the charging cable becomes an intelligent system solution that can monitor the charging process in the cloud and optimise it. (From a press release on October 16, 2018)

-Informed that it will showcase innovative technologies for autonomous driving at the International Suppliers Fair (IZB). Models on the fair stand will illustrate solutions for reducing weight and installation space, automotive Ethernet and driver assistance systems. Leoni’s multifunctional Adascar cables – are used to reduce the space required for safety and assistance systems and simultaneously the weight.  These multi-cores, shielded or unshielded cables are suited for control, comfort, power, safety, sensor and truck applications. Leoni Dacar Ethernet cables achieve an excellent and fast, bidirectional transfer of 100 Mbps and 1 Gbps (Ethernet standard). Leoni is already working on higher Gbps. Leoni has developed an Ethernet cable design with optimised materials to achieve high conductor symmetry even when exposed to vibration, humidity or dirt. (From a press release on October 12, 2018)

EVC charging cables and Hivocar high-voltage cables at the Electric and Hybrid Vehicle Technology Expo

-Announced that it will showcase its EVC charging cables and Hivocar high-voltage cables at the Electric and Hybrid Vehicle Technology Expo in Novi, Michigan. The cables cover the entire charging system. With this new LEONiQ key technology, the company adds intelligence to the system. LEONiQ can monitor such differing parameters as temperature and mechanical stress along any given cable system as well as record this data, send it by means of cloud services and evaluate it. For the US market, Leoni offers an extensive portfolio for existing AC/DC charging classes and, with its High Power Charging (HPC) cables, already provides solutions for the new 1000 V category. Leoni has developed a promising alternative to silicone cables for high-voltage wiring in e-cars. While temperature requirements of up to 200°C must still be fulfilled in hybrid vehicles because of the combination of combustion engines and electric motors, lower temperatures prevail in purely electric vehicles. This development for 150°C applications involves an irradiation crosslinked cable that, with high-flex strands, boasts exceptional flexibility and scores better in terms of resistance to abrasion and aggressive media. (From a press release on August 9, 2018)

R&D Employees

Product Development

An intelligent cable technology "LEONiQ"
-Developed an intelligent cable technology that makes energy and data flows more efficient, secure and available. “LEONiQ” can record and evaluate such differing parameters as temperature and mechanical wear along almost any given cable system. This key technology facilitates drawing conclusions concerning the condition of the overall cable system as well as controlling and monitoring it. LEONiQ is about 100 times cheaper and 100 times smaller than comparable technologies. It comprises three main elements: Simulation for energy and data transmission, Sensor-integrated, intelligent connectivity solutions, Data analysis and smart services. The infrastructure for charging electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles is one example for use of the LEONiQ key technology. (From a press release on April 5, 2018)

Patents

-In 2018, the number of registered proprietary rights came to 60 patents and utility models (previous year: 82), of which 19 from the Wiring Systems Division (previous year: 18) and 41 from the Wire & Cable Solutions Division (previous year: 64).

-Informed that its capital investment over the first half of 2018 was EUR 127 million. Its Business with the European carmakers and the international commercial vehicle industry grew especially dynamically.  At the end of June, the wiring harness division had orders worth EUR 21.2 billion on its books, of which electrically powered vehicles account for 20 or more percent. Thanks to unabatedly heavy demand for special cables for the automotive industry as well as for cables and solutions for factory automation, the Wire & Cable Solutions division substantially overcompensated for the absence of sales due to its disposal of the domestic and electrical appliance cables business. Last year, Leoni opened its third wiring systems plant in Serbia and its second facility in Langfang, China – the beginnings of a significant expansion of global production capacity: the completion of four more production facilities is scheduled for later this year. (From a press release on August 15, 2018) 

Investment in Germany

-The Company informed about completion of the building shell of the Factory of the Future. This marks the next milestone in the realisation of its competence centre in Roth: Through digital technologies, intelligent products and solutions and cloud-based services the Company will here create the basis for trailblazing production. The Factory of the Future will provide ideal underlying conditions for innovation and efficient production of intelligent cables, systems and services for the fields like ADAS and e-mobility. The Company still expects to relocate the current production facilities from its existing plant in Stieberstrasse, phase by phase, starting in 2019. Relocation of the roughly 800 employees is likely to be completed in mid-2020. In total, the Company will be investing EUR 90 million in the facility. (From a press release on June 4, 2018)

Investment outside Germany

<Canada>
-Leoni Elocab announced that it is investing CAD 10.5 million, supported by a CAD 1.5 million contribution from the Southwestern Ontario Development Fund, to expand its facility in Kitchener, Canada and purchase new equipment that will enable it to develop new product lines. The project is expected to be completed by December 2022. Leoni Elocab manufactures high performance cable systems for the automotive, industrial, communications, and healthcare sectors. (Ontario Provincial Government release on May 2, 2018)

<Mexico>
-The Company announced that it recently broke ground for a new USD 37.5 million plant in Yucatan, Mexico six months after officially starting operations of its first facility in the state. The company is investing USD 20 million to build the facility and USD 15 million for equipment. The plant is scheduled to become at least partially operational by the first quarter of 2019, reaching full capacity over a two-year period. The Company operates five facilities in Mexico located in the states of Sonora, Chihuahua, Durango, Guanajuato and Yucatan. (From a Mexico-Now article on May 4, 2018)

<Serbia>
-The Company announced that it will create jobs and employ more than 10,000 people in Serbia once the new plant in Kraljevo is fully operational. Once the new plant in Kraljevo has been opened in early 2020, Serbia will be the only European country in the WSD network with four production facilities and afterwards nearly double the number of employees in the country. Since setting up its business in Serbia in 2009, the Company has invested approximately EUR 90 million in its facilities, machinery and staff training, currently employing approximately 6,000 people and looking to increase the number to more 10,000 once the new plant in Kraljevo is working at full capacity. (From a press release on September 26, 2018)

-The Company informed that it has completed and inaugurated its third Serbian plant in Nis. Harnesses for one of the world's premium carmakers are being manufactured on a production space of 20,000 square meters. The investment value of the new Nis location is EUR 22 million. The Nis plant has around 1,200 employees. By the end of 2019, this figure will rise to 2,200. (From a press release on April 25, 2018)