Dürr receives large paint-finishing contracts from the aerospace industry

09/25/2002

• Paint plants and parts handling equipment for the new Airbus A 380 airliner
• A far from ordinary job for Dürr paint robots

The Paint Systems business unit of the Dürr Technology Group has received a number of orders from Airbus Industries for surface finishing and painting equipment for aircraft parts for the new Airbus A 380 twin-aisle, twin-deck airliner. Total value of the contracts exceeds 30 million euros. Major packages to be installed at two Airbus locations in Britain are pretreatment and primer and topcoat paint systems for a wide variety of wing parts and complete wings. Spray booths will offer sufficient space to paint fully assembled aircraft wings and measure 55m x 20m x 11m. In addition the turnkey solutions include ovens and control equipment as well as ancillary items such as paint and air distribution and energy recycling units. The conveyor and handling equipment to be supplied includes also special transport equipment for the enormous parts involved.

Dürr has also received orders for the supply of painting and assembly equipment for fuselage components to a number of Airbus locations in Germany, one of which is for automatic painting of tail fins using a Dürr robot mounted on a 19 m long rail. A similar Dürr robot had been used for painting rocket parts supplied for the Ariane program.

Design and contract execution will be under the general direction of the Dürr Group's British company, Durr Ltd (Warwick), where the Paint Systems business unit's Center of Competence for the aerospace industry is located. The paint robots as well as conveyor and assembly systems are to be supplied by German companies.

Paint Systems is the largest of the Dürr business units and has four product lines - Automotive, Industrial, Application Technology and Environmental. Sales for this business unit, which employs 2,742 people, totalled approximately 1.1 billion euros in 2001. The orders described of the product line Industrial, are an example of the Group's diversification strategy of bringing Dürr paint systems expertise to new markets outside the automotive industry.

The Dürr Technology Group is one of the world's leading suppliers of manufacturing systems and production-related services to the automotive industry and its suppliers. In 2001 the Dürr Group achieved sales in excess of 2.2 billion euros and an operating result (EBITDA) of 135 million euros. Worldwide Dürr employs more than 12,500 people in 26 countries.

Fiscal 2002 has so far seen a lively development in incoming orders, and the situation as regards strategic major projects in the automotive industry has been largely stable. From its current view, the Board of Management expects incoming orders and sales revenues for all of fiscal 2002 to attain the level of the previous year. Earnings too, before restructuring expenses, should also again be on the scale of 2001. However, there could be risks if the global economy declines further, among other things, as a result of negative developments in the stock markets. This could have an effect on Dürr's currently stable project situation as well. Dürr is very confident that it will benefit above-average from an economic upturn as of 2003.