As part of its ongoing strategy to focus on selected segments, Swedish industrial group Trelleborg (Trelleborg; www.trelleborg.com) in late January 2012 announced that it had signed an agreement with Bavaria Industriekapital (Munich / Germany; www.baikap.de) to divest a largely French operation manufacturing high-technology rubber, plastic and foam components and systems for the light vehicles industry. The price of the transaction, which is expected to be finalised in Q1 this year, was not disclosed, although Trelleborg did say the affected unit was part of its Automotive business, adding that its 570 employees last generated about SEK 550m (about EUR 62m) in revenues.

The affected business is reported to be a separate unit of Trelleborg Automotive, specialised in the manufacture of pedal box components and bump stop solutions for all car opening panels. Output also includes various other automotive components, including gaskets and molded hoses.

Comprised of four business areas – Engineered Systems, Automotive, Sealing Solutions and Wheel Systems – Sweden’s Trelleborg group delivered annual sales of about SEK 27 bn in 2010. It employs about 20,000 workers in 40 different countries.