Swiss automotive supplier Autoneum (Winterthur; www.autoneum.com) is expanding its presence on the growing market of Asia. Two new plants for the production of lightweight components for noise and heat protection are to be built in China and India, the company announced. Geographical proximity to local and international vehicle manufacturers played an important role in the choice of location.

One plant is to be built in Changchun in the northeastern Chinese province of Jilin, which Autoneum points out is one of Asia’s largest automobile production centres. Construction work on the new 5,000 m² building is already underway. Production of the first samples of interior insulation, floor insulation, and other NVH (noise, vibration, harshness) components for cars of all drive types is scheduled to start at the end of 2024. The plant will reportedly be operated as part of a joint venture.

Autoneum is building the other production facility in Pune in the Indian state of Maharashtra. This site is to manufacture carpet systems, interior and wheel arch linings, electric motor covers, and other noise-protection components on an area of 7,500 m² from the second quarter of 2024. The main target customers are Indian and South Korean car manufacturers. The new plant in western India would be the Swiss company’s third production unit on the subcontinent. The other two are located in Behror, Rajasthan, in the country’s north and in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, in the south – the latter is also a JV.

Worldwide, Autoneum operates over 66 production sites in 23 countries and employs around 16,500 people. Last year, the company increased sales by 28% to CHF 2.3 bn (EUR 2.39 bn) after acquiring the automotive business from the insolvent German company Borgers. Adjusted for one-off effects, EBIT more than doubled to CHF 99.2 mn, while consolidated profit more than quintupled to CHF 61.1 mn.

The European business recorded a 74% increase in sales to EUR 1.07 bn, with 69 percentage points attributable to acquisition-related growth. Excluding one-offs, EBIT skyrocketed to EUR 45.7 mn; however, including one-offs such as the initiated consolidation of plants in Germany and the UK as well as the closure of the Russian site in Ryazan, EBIT for the European business fell by 57% to EUR 3.3 mn.