Faurecia

Sales approach EUR 1.6 bn / Duffner era comes to an end / Collaboration with Japan's Starlite / Composite undercarriage as next step in light-weighting / Investing several million euros in medical engineering

Sales growth of 4.4% in first quarter 2016 / Europe drives increases / Guidance on full year confirmed with 1-3% sales gains forecast

Proposed takeover of Faurecia's Exterior Systems unit enters round two / EUR 665m deal expected to close in H2

Patrick Koller appointed CEO / Delabrière remains board chairman

Plans to acquire OEM International Automotive Components? / Pro-forma revenues approach USD 11 bn

Train and plane producer announces austerity measures / Large plastics consumer plans to cut 10% of the workforce

Profits at automotive OEM more than double in 2015 / Cautious outlook for 2016

Jean-Michel Szczerba appointed co-CEO of French OEM

Deal to combine with fellow consumer goods giant Jarden Corporation / Latest mammoth merge would create USD 16 bn mega-company / Completion expected in Q2 2016

MoU to acquire Faurecia's Automotive Exteriors business / EUR 665m deal would propel company to top 25 ranking of global OEM providers

Increased use of natural fibres and biopolymers in vehicles / Joint venture with French hemp supplier Interval '/ Partnering with Mitsubishi on "BioMat"

Big engines, individualised cars roar at “IAA 2015” / Small combustion engines steal the show from e-vehicles / OEMs favour structural parts made of steel and aluminium / GFRP and CFRP deemed too expensive / Hybrid materials pose a challenge for recycling

Plastics industry sees dynamic growth / Processing rises by 7% in 2014 / 3.1m t polymer consumption / Dependent on feedstock imports / Few petrochemical projects / Large-scale investment in packaging

Excelcar R&D centre at Peugeot plant commissioned / Composites for carriage building

Start of joint-venture car parts production for Fiat Chrysler in Brazil

Laurent Michaux appointed head of new Composite Components business unit

Operating profit and sales increase at higher pace than global automotive production / “Outstanding” growth in China / Strength in North America and Europe

South Korean automotive supplier builds second plant in Poland / Manufacturing interior components for Hyundai

Plastics processing sector expected to recover slightly in 2014 / Construction segment remains weak while automotive is largely stable / 2013 decline smaller than expected / State support for innovative and export-oriented companies

Expansion of Polish plants in the works / Belgian front end module complex now in production

Former Rehau automotive head Niklas Braun becomes executive vice president Automotive Exteriors at Faurecia

Part 1 – General overview: US shale gas boom has European plastics players worried / Commodity sectors dogged by overcapacity, insolvencies / Italy goes all out for biopolymers / Mixed picture for European converters

French OEM supplier refocuses after acquisition spree / Growth in China and North America targeted

French, Italian automotive OEMs team up on vehicle interiors / Merger of plastics and electronics

JV discussions underway for bumper system production site in Russia