SGL Group buys out all of BENTELER-SGL joint venture

SGL Technologies Composites Holding GmbH, a fully owned subsidiary of SGL Carbon SE (Wiesbaden, Germany), announced on Nov. 8 that it has acquired the 50% share of BENTELER Carbon Composites Beteiligungs-GmbH in the joint venture BENTELER-SGL GmbH & Co. KG (Paderborn, Germany). SGL Carbon SE becomes the sole owner of the company. A corresponding agreement on the sale, which should be completed by the end of 2017, has been signed by the two shareholders. The transaction is subject to the usual approval of the relevant authorities.

The agreement is the result of an in-depth analysis of the business portfolios of both companies. For BENTELER and SGL Group, focus on their core competencies is key part of their respective strategy. Hence, this transaction perfectly matches both companies’ strategies.

“The complete takeover of BENTELER-SGL enables us to expand our serial production capabilities for components made from fiber-reinforced composites. In future, we will be able to offer our customers one-stop-shop solutions along all steps of the value chain, from carbon fibers to materials and components,” explains Jürgen Köhler, CEO of SGL Group. “This serial production expertise will also be made available to other industries. I would like to thank BENTELER for the very close and constructive working relationship over the past almost ten years. We have been truly doing pioneering work in many of our joint projects.”

BENTELER further develops lightweight solutions, serving this important trend in the automotive industry. The company leverages its in-house expertise in aluminum and steel processing. "We will continue our successful partnership with SGL Group in the future to purchase products made of glass or carbon fiber-reinforced plastic, where necessary," explains Laurent Favre, CEO of BENTELER Automotive. "The automotive market is changing rapidly. The sale of our shares in the joint venture enables us to invest more in our core business, in order to actively shape the future of the automotive industry. We are driving developments in the area of electric mobility and offer complete system solutions, as our customers are increasingly outsourcing them. We also see a huge potential in digitization, in cooperations with startups and in growth markets such as China."

The BENTELER-SGL joint venture was founded in 2008. Today, it is considered one of the leading developers and large-scale producers of lightweight composite components (based on fiberglass and carbon fibers) for the automotive industry. In 2016, the joint venture generated sales revenues of around €33 million with a workforce of 221. Its product range includes components such as car roofs, rear spoilers, and leaf springs made from fiber composite materials. Manufacturers such as Audi, BMW, Lamborghini, Porsche and Volvo are among its customers.

Following the acquisition, the company's two sites in Ried and Ort (both located in Austria's Innkreis region) will become part of the Composites – Fibers & Materials (CFM) business unit and will operate under the SGL Group brand. In the CFM business unit, the SGL Group already has strong development and production expertise with regard to fibers, especially for acrylic fibers, oxidized fibers, carbon fibers, and fiber composites. The acquisition of BENTELER-SGL will expand its expertise in the serial production of components. It complements the establishment of the Lightweight and Application Center (LAC) in Meitingen, which was launched in 2016. At the LAC, products and associated manufacturing processes are developed for lightweight components that are suitable for serial production.

"We would like to thank the colleagues of BENTELER-SGL for their commitment over the past years and wish them every success for the future," says Laurent Favre, CEO of BENTELER Automotive.

“We are looking forward to welcoming our colleagues from BENTELER-SGL into our team,” says Andreas Wüllner, head of CFM at the SGL Group. “Pooling our expertise under one roof will enable us to provide even more finely tailored composite solutions to our customers in the future in order to maximize their success.”