Gebr. Rochling KG Business Report FY ended Dec. 2012

Business Highlights

Financial Overview

(in million EUR)
  FY ended Dec. 31, 2012 FY ended Dec. 31, 2011 Rate of change
(%)
Overall
Net Sales 1,192.8 1,133.5 5.2
Automotive Plastics Division
Sales 599.2 525.4 14.0

Contracts

-The Company announced that orders from Ford in the 2011 fiscal year reached an annual volume of EUR 32 million. The orders are for the Company's air induction systems for Ford's "Mustang", "F-150", and "Transit" models. Production of the air induction systems for the "Transit" were scheduled to begin in March 2013, with the "Mustang's" systems were scheduled to begin production in April. Production for the "F-150" components are scheduled to begin in July 2014. (From a press release on May 24, 2012)

-The Company announced that it received an order from Volkswagen of EUR 19 million annually. Under this order, the Company will equip 40 small, compact, and medium-sized models including the "Golf VII", the "Passat" and the Audi "A3" with muffler filters. The first filters were manufactured in June 2012 at the plant in Peine, Germany. (From a press release on May 24, 2012)

-The Company announced that Opel's electric model, "Junior" will be fitted with light-weight reinforced thermoplastic underbodies manufactured from the Company's facility in Worms, Germany. (From a press release on May 24, 2012)

-Major contracts that the Company won in 2012 are given below:
  • Three orders from Volkswagen Brazil which led to the expansion of the Company's Brazilian plant in Itupeva.
  • An agreement with General Motors to annually equip 480,000 Chevrolet "Equinox", "Captiva", and GMC "Terrain" models with underbody packages.
  • An order to provide 1.6 million air flaps for the Chevrolet, Opel, Buick, Holden and GMC brands. 400,000 will be manufactured in Akron, Ohio, USA while the remaining 1.2 million will be produced in Suzhou, China.
  • Orders from Nissan for the "Qashqai", "Altima Hybrid", and "Murano" as well as all Renault models based on the same platform.
  • An order to provide water-cooled degas bottles for the Audi "A4", "A5", "Q7", Volkswagen "Touareg", and Porsche "Cayenne" models.
  • An order to produce engine undershields, underbody panels, and rear diffusors for the Ford "S-Max" and "Galaxy" models.
  • An order to produce air flaps and degas bottles for Volvo luxury-class models.
  • Miscellaneous large orders from BMW, Mercedes, Volkswagen, and Audi.

Awards

-Roechling Automotive, a segment of the Company, received the "New Consumer-Focused Technology" award for its air flap systems at the 2011 Ford Excellence Awards. (From a press release on July 18, 2012)

R&D

R&D Activities

-In 2012, the Company participated in a research project to develop a Fiat "Panda" powered by natural gas and hydrogen. (From a press release on May 24, 2012)

R&D Structure

-The Company's Automotive Plastics division has a total of four R&D facilities which are located in Germany, Italy, China and the United States. 

Investment Activities

Capital Expenditure

(in million EUR)
  FY ended Dec. 31, 2012 FY ended Dec. 31, 2011 FY ended Dec. 31, 2010
Automotive Plastics Division 61.9 40.0 16.1
High-Performance Plastics Division 78.4 53.4 19.7
Adjustment 0.5 6.6 0.1
Total 140.8 100.0 35.9

Investment outside Germany

<China>
-In 2012, the Company announced the official opening of the new Roechling Automotive plant in Chengdu, Sichuan Province. The 13,000 square meter plant manufactures controlled shutter systems, intake manifolds, compression molded parts for underbodies, engine compartments, and other injection molded parts. (From a press release on July 18, 2012)