Feb 2 2005
Helvoet Holding based in Hellevoetsluis, The Netherlands has acquired Philips High Tech Plastics Automotive. The takeover has made Helvoet an international player in the market of rubber and plastic components and assemblies. Following this transaction Helvoet will continue under the name of Helvoet Rubber & Plastic Technologies.
Helvoet develops and produces specific rubber and plastic components and assemblies that are used in top quality products.
Customers include major companies in the automotive industry, domestic appliances & personal care, consumer electronics and food & beverages. Philips HTP Automotive specialises in extremely precise plastic components for the automotive industry. Virtually all private vehicles by American and European manufacturers contain products that are made by Philips HTP Automotive. The new branch of Helvoet supplies 35% of all impellers (centrifugal fans) in the market of fuel pumps. In 2005 the new company will employ a team of 950 people. This represents a doubling of the original Helvoet.
The two companies – with facilities in Singapore, India, Korea,Mexico, the United States and at the end of this year China – together form a firm that leads the industry internationally in the realm of rubber, plastic and assembly technology. This will enable them to combine their expertise such that new products can be placed on the market and existing ones optimized. Helvoet is able to offer its services worldwide.
Helvoet had been on the road to the takeover for some time. The company wanted to reinforce its market position. Vertically by making even more specialized products, and horizontally by being active on more continents. In addition Helvoet had reached a critical size in order to remain one step ahead of the competition.
Peter van Vlijmen, CEO of Helvoet, calls Philips subsidiary HTP Automotive ‘a lottery ticket’. The company is healthy and the personnel are superlatively trained and motivated.Their customers view the two companies as groundbreaking, competitive and high tech.The product groups and clientele of Helvoet and Philips HTP Automotive complement one another and the acquisition partner is already operating forcefully in America, the continent where Helvoet is striving to grow. ‘So you could say that we fit together in all aspects, and this will make us stronger and stronger.’
‘It is quite certain that we will develop significantly in the time to come’, says Van Vlijmen.‘Together we can handle all the orders in the markets that are important to us. Helvoet will make intensive use of the shared expertise and customer contacts. This will enable us to not only develop new applications for our technologies, but also allow us to offer our customers a much broader range of top quality products.The latter is important, because more and more companies want to limit their number of suppliers. The new company will be of a size that will make it better able to invest in both innovation and new production techniques.’
At the time of the delisting of Helvoet in 2002, its current shareholders - NPM Capital,ABN AMRO Capital and Fortis Private Equity – expressed their intention to finance ongoing expansion of the company. They, together with the management, have supplied new equity in order to make the financing of this important acquisition possible.
Van Vlijmen:‘Now there is a company that has firmly established itself as a recognisable player in the world of rubber and plastic components and assemblies. The new combination will focus on further growth in the Chinese market, and will not exclude that it may take over more companies in the future. Our aim is to be and remain a worldwide top player.’
For more information on polymers used in automotive applications, click here.