Inergy Automotive Systems Business Report FY ended Dec. 2012

Business Highlights

Business Overview

-In 2012, the Company produced approximately 17 million fuel systems, obtaining a global market share of 21%, according to the Company.

Joint Ventures

-In April 2012, the Company, signed a joint venture agreement with DSK, a leading Russian fuel system company to form DIPO. The Company has a 51% stake in DIPO and has contributed its plant in Stavrovo, while DSK has contributed its Togliatti plant and has the remaining 49%. DIPO will manufacture fuel systems for AvtoVAZ, Ford, Nissan, Renault and General Motors.

-At the end of January 2012, the Company finalized the formation of a joint venture in China with Beijing Hainachuan Automotive Parts Co. Ltd. (BHAP), a subsidiary of Beijing Automotive Industry Co. (BAIC). The joint venture will be owned 40% by BHAP and 60% by the Company.

Contracts

-In 2012, the Company was awarded a contract to supply the first plastic fuel tanks to Hyundai in India, shortly after being awarded a similar contract by Toyota in Ranipet. (From a press release on September 18, 2012)

-In 2012, the Company was awarded a contract by Audi to supply most of the selective catalytic reduction (SCR) systems for their diesel vehicles, beginning in 2015. The order is for 500,000 SCR systems a year, representing an estimated EUR 500 million. Other orders for the system have been received from General Motors and Chrysler. (From a press release on February 2, 2012)

Awards

-In December 2012, Toyota presented the Company with a World Quality award for managing projects involving global platforms while complying with high quality standards. In April 2012, Toyota presented a Company plant in Vellore, India with a Best Quality Supplier Award for the first plastic fuel system ever produced in India.

R&D

R&D Expense

-The Company's research budget represents approximately 1% of the Company's sales.

R&D Structure

-The Company has 5 research and development centers and 6 technical antennas in the main regions of the world.

-The Company will inaugurate a new international research and development center in Compiegne, France in the summer of 2014. The new research center's main goal is to focus on the reduction of polluting emissions. The center will be built on the existing Company site in Venette near Compiegne, and will bring together 430 employees divided between Venette and Laval in France, as well as Brussels in Belgium. Approximately 500 people are expected to be employed within two years of the facility's opening. (From a press release on June 28, 2012)

Product Development

Effort to reduce hydrocarbon emissions
-The Company has stepped up its effort to reduce hydrocarbon emissions - in particular nitrous oxide and carbon dioxide - with its Twin Sheet Blow Molding technology (TSBM) and Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) solutions.
  • TSBM: This technology helps reduce hydrocarbon emissions by integrating a large number of components into the fuel tank during the blow molding stage instead of welding them once the tank has been manufactured.
  • DINOx Premium: The second generation (DINOx Premium) SCR system eliminates 95% of a diesel vehicle's NOx emissions and up to 8% of its CO2 emissions. Optimized in terms of size and performance, the system meets future emissions and fuel consumption standards, including the EURO VI standard scheduled to take effect in Europe beginning in 2014.

Investment Activities

Investment Outside France

<United States>
-The Company opened a fuel system plant in Huron, Michigan, where all of the production from the Milan plant acquired from Ford in June 2011 will gradually be transferred. (From a press release on October 25, 2012) 

<Mexico>
-In November 2012, the Company finished construction of a new plant in Puebla and started manufacturing fuel systems for the Volkswagen "Jetta".

<Russia>
-The Company announced plans to construct a new plant in Saint Petersburg, Russia in 2013, to service contracts obtained recently from Nissan, General Motors and Ford. The plant will be built by the 51%-owned joint venture that was created between the Company and DSK, one of Russia's leading fuel systems manufacturer. (From a press release on September 18, 2012)

<China>
-The Company is in the middle of building plants in Shenyang and Guangzhou that will supply General Motors, Toyota and BAIC starting in 2014