Automotive News Europe - January 2013 - 19

AUTOMOTIVE NEWS EUROPE

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Looking for help outside Europe
ing more than 8 million units a year. At PSA, I assume that its shareholders, top management and the French authorities are willing to take the needed recovery decisions. Are you happy with your customer base? We are satisfied, but it’s not optimized yet. We need to grow more with American, German and Asian manufacturers. What about Chinese or Indian manufacturers? We have well-established relations with Mahindra & Mahindra and Geely. We are also working with Great Wall, Changan, SAIC and Beijing Automotive in China and with Ashok Leyland in India and SsangYong in Korea. What is your outlook for China? The Chinese market will grow significantly in 2013 and will continue to grow at least 7 percent annually for the years to come. Where does Plastic Omnium rank when it comes to defective parts per million? We are achieving single-digit PPM on our fuel systems, which is a world benchmark. On painted bumpers and body parts, we experience low twodigit PPMs. This performance is also an absolute benchmark in the industry. In both cases, this quality is a real competitive advantage. You showed carbon fiber bodyshell parts at the 2011 Frankfurt auto show. When will you enter that sector with your own parts? We are currently developing our pilot production line and our own pre-development parts. We are still working on the exact performances of the material. Carbon fiber offers us so many possibilities. We hope to sign our first development contract with a car manufacturer in 2013 to 2014.

Plastic Omnium CEO foresees strong 2013 on growth in hot markets
aurent Burelle has been the catalyst behind Plastic Omnium’s globalization since taking charge of the Parisbased business in 2001. The company, which was started by Burelle’s father in a cellar, has 103 industrial sites and 14 r&d centers in 28 countries. While Plastic Omnium recently announced plans to cut some output in Germany, it anticipates a strong 2013 overall as it starts to see the benefits from production contracts in markets outside Europe. Burelle shared his views with Automotive News Europe France Correspondent Bertrand Gay. What is your outlook for the European market in 2013? We think that the European market will be down slightly in 2013. The drop will be more severe in western European countries while we foresee some growth in central Europe. But Europe will only account for one-third of Plastic Omnium’s sales. Our strategy is to take advantage of growth wherever it is in the world. We seize opportunities when they appear. For Plastic Omnium, 2013 will be another year of growth as we’ll begin production, especially in emerging markets, linked to contracts awarded three years ago. Is France still competitive? That question is way too aggressive. In our industry, being competitive is about costs and production volumes. Considering this issue without being specific about the car produced misses the point. Utilization rate, product attractiveness and global costs have to be taken as a whole system. The economic, legislative, fiscal and social environments are as important as the direct costs of the product itself. Why are French automakers hurting worse than most of their rivals? Renault-Nissan is the third-largest vehicle manufacturer in the world produc-

Meet the boss
❚ NAME: Laurent Burelle ❚ TITLE: Chairman & CEO, Plastic

Omnium

❚ AGE: 63 ❚ BASED: Paris ❚ NATIONALITY: French ❚ MAIN CHALLENGE: Maintaining the

company’s strong organic growth by winning new contracts in emerging markets.

Is the retail price war in Europe causing automakers to ask suppliers for deeper cost cuts? No, I don’t feel any additional price pressure due to this price war. The reason is partly because our products provide specific technical solutions. We are far from being a commodity supplier. Why do carmakers face more public outrage than suppliers when they close plants? Car manufacturers’ plants are much bigger than suppliers’ so when they close a factory it puts 10,000 to 12,000 jobs at risk in the surrounding area. These figures include suppliers and service providers. Also, brand awareness is much stronger at the car manufacturers than suppliers.

JANUARY 2013

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Automotive News Europe - January 2013

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