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Dürr takes over leading French paint shop manufacturer

09/28/1999

Alstom Automotive and Painting Systems

• Worldwide market leadership strengthened
• Access to the French automotive industry considerably widened
• Growth opportunities with painting systems for the general industry

Dürr AG, Stuttgart, will acquire a 50 percent stake in the paint shop manufacturer Alstom Automation S.A. (Alstom-Division Automotive and Painting Systems), Paris through its subsidiary Dürr Systems GmbH, and will also take over the management. Full acquisition of the company can take place in March 2001. The participation and acquisition will take place subject to the agreement of the competition authorities.

Alstom Automation is the leading supplier of paint shop equipment for mass production to the French automotive industry. Moreover, the company also has a strong market standing in the area of painting facilities for plastic components. Alstom Automation has operations outside France in Germany, Italy, Spain, Brazil, Mexico and in the USA, and with its approx. 650 employees, expects to achieve sales of approx. euro 210 m in the current year.

"With Alstom Automation, Dürr will not only further expand its international leading edge as supplier of turnkey paint shops, but will, above all, have much better access to the French automotive industry", says Hans Dieter Pötsch, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Dürr AG.

Due to the good market standing of Alstom Automation, also as supplier of painting facilities for plastic components, Dürr is able to strengthen its competitive edge in this market segment also. There is growing demand for such equipment both within the automotive industry as well as amongst the automotive component suppliers, as the proportion of plastic components attached to the vehicles is continually increasing.

In the current business year Alstom Automation who, after the takeover, will be doing business again under the former trademark Air Industrie SystËmes S.A., is aspiring to achieve a balanced operating result. To improve cost structures, Dürr and Air Industrie will utilize the synergies of their joint capabilities. As a result, Air Industrie should achieve the planned return on sales of the Dürr Group in the medium term.

In France, Dürr has already been active with about 400 employees at different locations with the business lines Application Systems, Conveyor Systems and Industrial Cleaning Systems. By combining the competences of Air Industrie, Dürr will be able to offer a much wider spectrum of capabilities and a complete systems range to the French automotive industry.

The Dürr Group is the world's leading supplier of automobile paint finishing systems, industrial cleaning systems, and manufacturing support services to the automotive industry. With operations in over 20 countries, the Dürr Group expects sales of about euro 1.1 bn in the business year 1999, and employs over 6,500 people. With the recent acquisition of the international service provider Premier Manufacturing Support Services in April 1999, Dürr has been able to expand its system capabilities for the automotive industry specifically by adding manufacturing support services to its performance range.