DGAP-News: UNIWHEELS AG / Key word(s): Strategic Company Decision
Uniwheels AG: UNIWHEELS - a leading European manufacturer of alloy
wheels - plans to expand production in Poland (news with additional
features)
24.02.2015 / 10:30
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UNIWHEELS - a leading European manufacturer of alloy wheels - plans to
expand production in Poland
- UNIWHEELS plans to build third production plant in Stalowa Wola
- The investment plan will increase the production capacity by approx. 2
million wheels
- New plant will generate more than 250 new jobs in Stalowa Wola
Bad Dürkheim, February 24th 2015: Germany-based alloy wheels manufacturer
UNIWHEELS plans to expand its operations in Poland, which will increase the
capacity of Polish factories by approx. 2 million wheels.
The UNIWHEELS Group is the leading European manufacturer of aftermarket
alloy wheels (with brands ATS, RIAL, ALUTEC and ANZIO) and one of Europe's
largest wheel suppliers to the automotive industry. Currently, the Group
has three major production plants, two of them based in Stalowa Wola, and
one in Germany (Werdohl).
Two factories in Stalowa Wola produced over 6 mln wheels last year.
UNIWHEELS Group supplied 75% of them to renowned car manufacturers like
Audi, BMW/MINI, Mercedes, Jaguar/Land Rover, PSA and Volvo as OEM (Original
Equipment Manufacturer) and the remaining volume was sold to the accessory
market under the globally-recognized brands: ATS, RIAL, ALUTEC and ANZIO.
"In response to positive market conditions and consistently increasing
demand from our customers - both existing, and new ones gained in the
process of broadening of our customers base, UNIWHEELS intends to expand
its operations in Poland and increase production capacity in the near
future" - says Ralf Schmid, CEO of UNIWHEELS AG.
The first stage of development will include the construction of several new
buildings and the installation of an additional fully automatic painting
line that will supplement the existing production capacities. Further
stages will include setting up the new foundry with an array of new casting
machines and melting ovens as well as robotic machinery cells for the
automatic machining process. At the first stage, a capacity of 1.2 million
wheels per year will be reached by the end of 2016, extending to full
capacity of approx. 2 million wheels by the end of 2017.
"Benefits of the new painting line, in addition to the capacity increase
are an improved flexibility of the entire production process especially
within silver and clear coat finishing and the manufacturing of very large
wheel sizes of up to 24â³." - says Mr. Schmid.
"The Group expects that the ramp-up process in the new plant will start in
2016 and the envisaged total capacity of approximately 2 million wheels per
year will be achieved in 2018" - he adds.
UNIWHEELS Group is one of the largest employers in Stalowa Wola region. As
at the end of 2014 it employed over 1800 people in two factories - the
number of employees increased by over 15% compared to the previous year.
Polish employees constitute approx. 78% of UNIWHEELS Group staff
complement. The new plant will generate at least 250 additional jobs in
Stalowa Wola.
"We continuously increase effectiveness in our factories, which means that
the Group will continue looking for any room for improvement to increase
the productivity, quality and production capacity and for the upkeep of the
state-of-the-art level of its manufacturing process as to remain the
technology partner of choice for its most demanding automotive customers" -
summarizes Mr. Schmid.
/
About us:
UNIWHEELS Group is the leading manufacturer of alloy wheels in the European
aftermarket (Accessory Division) and one of Europe's largest wheel
suppliers to the automotive industry (Automotive Division). UNIWHEELS Group
also equips professional motorsport racing vehicle series with high-tech
wheels. For more than 40 years, the Group has been producing high-quality
aluminium wheels mainly using the low-pressure casting technique. Further
manufacturing techniques used are flow forming, Lightforming(R) (advanced
pressure rolling) and forging for ultra-light high-tech wheels.
With the global brands of ATS, RIAL, ALUTEC and ANZIO, UNIWHEELS possesses
comprehensive knowledge in the accessories market and technical expertise
as an original equipment manufacturer in the automotive industry.
Furthermore, with its wide range of brands, the UNIWHEELS Group offers
wheels for all target groups, from premium to economy.
Highly efficient production locations in Poland and Germany, as well as the
pooled technological expertise of the group, form a secure base for further
development of the brands and growth of the UNIWHEELS Group associated with
this.
Two UNIWHEELS factories based in Stalowa Wola are responsible for approx.
83% of total Group production. In 2014 over 6 million wheels were sold from
Poland-based factories. UNIWHEELS employs over 1800 employees in Poland.
The Group's German plant in Werdohl has approx. 370 employees and had an
output of approx. 1.2 million high-end wheels sold in 2014.
In 2013 the UNIWHEELS Group had revenues of EUR 337.2 m, EBITDA of EUR 38.2
m and net income of EUR 13.2 m.
More information: www.uniwheels.com
Contact:
Oliver Madsen
Head of Investor Relations
UNIWHEELS AG
Gustav-Kirchhoff-Str. 10
67098 Bad Dürkheim
Germany
Phone: +49 (0) 6322 9899-6209
E-mail: o.madsen@de.uniwheels.com
Web: www.uniwheels.com
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Additional features:
Document: http://n.equitystory.com/c/fncls.ssp?u=FYUTEDMMRU
Document title: UNIWHEELS - a leading European manufacturer of alloy
wheels - plans to expand production in Poland
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24.02.2015 Dissemination of a Corporate News, transmitted by DGAP - a
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The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
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DGAP-News: Uniwheels AG: UNIWHEELS - a leading European manufacturer of alloy wheels - plans to expand production in Poland (news with additional features)
| Source: EQS Group AG