Dürr successful in Eastern Europe growth market
06/05/2007
Stuttgart, June 5, 2007 – The Dürr Group is benefiting from auto industry growth in Eastern Europe. The mechanical and plant engineering firm received two large orders from that region in recent weeks with a combined value of more than € 120 million. More orders are to be awarded.
In March, Korean automaker Hyundai commissioned Dürr to design and build a complete paint shop for its new factory in the Czech city of Ostrava. The order is worth more than € 70 million. Environmentally safe water-based paints will be used there to produce cars and SUVs. It will be a very efficient paint shop, with planned capacity of over 300,000 units per year. Dürr will begin building the shop in September 2007, so Hyundai can start production in mid-2008. This is already the fourth large project that the Hyundai group has awarded to Dürr in the past 18 months.
In April, Dürr received an order from Volkswagen to build a complete paint shop in the Russian city of Kaluga. The order has a total value of more than € 50 million. It includes delivery of the RoDip rotation pretreatment and electrocoating system, which features optimal coverage of all cavities and more even distribution of paint on surfaces. Dürr is also supplying 19 exterior painting robots, which will apply primer and top coats. Parts of the plant in Kaluga will be designed by Dürr according to LeanLine, a low-price system concept with a compact layout, standardized products, and simple processes. All process stages of the paint shop are on a single level. Accordingly, the flow of materials is arranged very compactly, and the layout thus fulfills the highest standards of economic operation. The Kaluga plant is designed for a capacity of 115,000 units per year. Dürr will begin installation in 2008, and full capacity production will start in 2009.
Dürr registered incoming orders from Eastern Europe worth more than € 150 million in the first quarter of 2007 and thus benefited from the increase of production in that region. Experts estimate that production of light vehicles (cars and light trucks) in Eastern Europe will grow from about 5 million units now to about 8 million by 2012. According to a study by the German Office for Foreign Trade, demand for higher-quality automobiles has increased as a consequence of economic growth and rising purchasing power. “Considering the capital investments announced by several automakers, we expect more orders from Eastern Europe in the months ahead,” said Ralf Dieter, CEO of Dürr AG. Orders are about to be awarded, among others, by an American and a Japanese automaker, which are investing in factories in St. Petersburg. Eastern European manufacturers have also called for bids on projects involving construction of factories.
The Dürr Group is one of the world’s leading suppliers of products, systems, and services for automobile manufacturing. Its range embraces important stages in the vehicle production process. As a systems supplier, Dürr designs and builds paint shops and final assembly plants. Dürr also supplies cleaning and filtration equipment used in the production of engine and transmission components as well as balancing and diagnostic systems for vehicle components. Business with automobile manufacturers and their suppliers accounts for about 90% of consolidated sales. Other important customer groups are the mechanical engineering sector and the chemical, pharmaceutical, coating, and aviation industries.
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Dürr Systems GmbH
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