Press Conference of the Brose Corporate Group on the occasion of the 59th Frankfurt International Motor Show

Frankfurt/Main (09/2001). Ladies and Gentlemen, The Brose Group presents itself at the IAA 2001 in the most successful phase of its corporate history. The consolidated turnover worldwide increased in the year 2000 to 1.4 billion euros. This meant that the growth objective of 10% and the 5% profitability objective in the operating result were both achieved.

Our customers’ trust in our efficiency has made it possible for us to more than double our business volume since 1996 and to create 1,600 new jobs in Germany and abroad. Our company supplies worldwide more than 30 automotive manufacturers directly or via leading seat producers with systems and modules for vehicle doors and seats. Almost 5,000 employees at Brose are engaged in the development, production and sales of our products. We are currently represented at 19 locations in Europe, North, South America, Africa and Asia with production and engineering companies as well as several sites with licensed production.

Our corporate group is therefore up among the top 100 worldwide leading suppliers as the seventh-largest family-run company with regard to growth, profitability and net worth.

By making significant investments in our German central locations we are preparing ourselves for future market challenges. In Coburg and Hallstadt near Bamberg we have set up new competence centers for bundling our development activities.

With our electronics production now in operation at Hallstadt we cover the entire process chain for our electronic control units from development up to production. By working together with our cooperation partners Seeber and Simoldes on the door trim, Dura on the door shell and Bosch on locking systems, we have completed our system competence.

In addition, we are strengthening our global presence by working in cooperation with the Shiroki Corporation, Toyokawa, one of the great Japanese manufacturers of vehicle parts. The aim of this cooperation is to jointly develop window regulators, door systems and seat adjusters for vehicle platforms, which are built in Japan and Europe.

Due to the decline in vehicle production worldwide, we expect one-digit growth in turnover (4%) this year for the first time. By 2003, however, we anticipate double-digit business growth again; a major contributory factor here will be the two new door system orders finalized last year.

I would like to go into a little bit more detail about each business division in order to clarify the overall positive situation:

In the business division of window regulators, which is headed by my deputy Adolf Rosensprung, we expect a business volume of about 710 million euros for 2001. Having produced more than 500 million window regulator systems and with over 70 years’ experience, we are the technological and market leader worldwide in this product area.

To tap further growth potential we are concentrating our international activities on the American and Asian markets. Our position as technological leader is underlined here in Frankfurt with our presentation of new window regulator concepts and a modular component system for mechanics, motors and electronics which will enable us to achieve advantages in international cost competition.

In the year 2000, we developed the fourth generation of our electronic control units for window regulators. By using these electronics, which limit the closing force of the window and provide numerous convenience features, we are the first supplier worldwide to meet the increasingly stringent safety requirements on the international market. In the future, we will produce these electronics in our production at Hallstadt.

The business division of door systems, which is headed by Kurt Sauernheimer, has been extraordinarily dynamic in its development with the highest rate of growth. For the current business year, we are anticipating an increase in the sales result from 461 to 500 million euros.

With the experience gained from producing over 30 million units we are clearly number 1 in the growth area of door systems. For over a decade now we have been engaged in organizing complex development, production and logistics processes with numerous partners. From plants in Europe, North and South America, Africa and Asia we supply our customers worldwide just-in-time for their vehicle production. In Slovakia, we will soon start producing and supplying door systems, the scope of which has been extended to comprise, for the first time, frame, glass, door seal and a part of the door structure.

Our competence as the development partner for quite different door concepts is underlined here in Frankfurt in our presentations of new developments for integrated door trim and innovative locking systems.

There is also a positive development to be seen in the business division of seat adjusters, which has been headed by Jürgen Otto since July 2001. In this year, the business volume will reach 255 million euros.

Having introduced these products in Europe in the seventies, we are the European market leader for power seat adjusters. We use modular system design for producing the whole program of manual and power adjustable components with new electronic control unit possibilities. Based on this, we have extended our competence to the development and production of the entire seat metal structure.