Faurecia have quietly picked up contracts with new automaker customers. They used a hoard of cash that now stands at $1.4bn to make acquisitions amid the rubble of the 2008-09 industry collapse. Now Faurecia are shifting their technology in a bid to win market share in the growing small-car segments.
Although the company was hurt along with the rest of the industry last year, their North American original-equipment sales topped $2.65 billion in 2008, before the bottom fell out.
This summer, Faurecia acquired the bankrupt German exteriors supplier Plastal GmbH and its Spanish sister company Plastal Spain SA in a move that could boost U.S. business. Plastal has an innovative method of inexpensively painting small-batch exterior body parts through automated part handling.
Faurecia are in a strong position, according to a report by analyst Gaetan Toulemonde of Deutsche Bank. Rising global volumes have made the French megasupplier profitable, thanks to a sharp reduction in its breakeven point under Delabriere, according to Toulemonde’s report.
Faurecia also is seeking to increase the use of lightweight plastic components as automakers try to cut vehicle weight. One effort is replacing steel components with plastics on seat structures.
In February, as the U.S. industry was struggling to get back on its feet after a year of closed assembly plants and supply chain havoc, Faurecia completed its acquisition of Detroit’s Emcon Technologies , a maker of emissions control systems.
Faurecia estimates that the deal makes it the industry’s largest supplier in the segment, which it forecasts will deliver 7% annual growth for the next decade.
The Emcon deal brought Faurecia other new customers in North America, including Toyota and Honda.
