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Autoneum Annual Report 2015
Business year at a glance
Driving innovation in multifunctional
lightweight components
In the reporting year Autoneum again proved
its innovation leadership in acoustic and thermal
management with forward-looking products.
With Clean-Tuft, the market leader extended its
range of high-quality carpets by offering premi-
um-quality tufted carpets for compact and
mid-class vehicles, too. The innovative Clean-Tuft
technology offers significant added value in
terms of cleanability and durability compared
to the needlepunch carpets commonly found in
these classes of vehicles. With Prime-Light,
an innovative quantum leap in inner dashes and
floor insulators was achieved. Prime-Light
marks the latest advancement of Autoneum’s
successful Ultra-Light technology: Compared to
previous Ultra-Light variants, components made
from Prime-Light are even lighter and can also
be pressed into many different shapes and
thicknesses. Thus they adjust perfectly to the
individual body-in-white shapes and take
account of increasingly complex manufacturing
processes in vehicle construction. Prime-Light-
based inner dashes and floor insulators are made
of thermoplastic cotton felt compounds, and
depending on the specific application may contain
up to 50% recycled materials. Prime-Light
will be produced in series for models of US
OEMs in North America and China as of 2016.
To support OEMs in meeting globally in-
creasing requirements for vehicle emissions and
noise reduction, Autoneum now offers multifunc-
tional engine covers made of Theta-FiberCell.
This key technology takes into account
customer-specific product requirements such
as optimum noise protection and integrated
thermal insulation. Compared to conventional
engine covers made of plastic, Theta-FiberCell
engine covers are lighter by over 50%, which
market. US plants in Jeffersonville, Indiana, and
Monroe, Ohio, which were newly put into
operation in 2015, started the manufacturing
of carpet systems and underbody shields for
US and Japanese customers. Production capaci-
ties at the Chinese plants in Taicang, Shenyang
and Guangzhou were further extended in order
to industrialize extensive existing serial
orders for European, US and Chinese customers.
In order to provide internationally producing
customers with the accustomed high product
quality for their South American manufacturing
facilities too, an existing plant within the
metropolitan area of São Paulo, Brazil, was
relocated and its machinery renewed in
line with the latest production standards.
A variety of model ramp-ups resulted in
high utilization of European, North American
and Asian production capacity. Along with series
production for models of European premium
and volume OEMs, there was first-time supply
of carpet systems, heatshields and hoodliners to
a Korean OEM in Europe. In the USA, Autoneum
shared in the market success of its customers,
for example as evidenced by the fact that almost
all of the 15 best-selling 2015 car models in the
USA were fitted with products from Autoneum.
New launches in China and India strengthened
the market position of Autoneum at US custom-
ers, while sales to Chinese OEMs increased
further through supply of heatshields.
Meanwhile, numerous large orders obtained
in 2015 secure Autoneum’s future sales growth.
These include high-volume orders for carpet
systems from a German premium manufacturer
in Europe as well as orders to supply textile
underbody systems to the US production plants
of German and Japanese customers and to
produce carpet systems, heatshields and
hoodliners for a Swedish OEM as part of its
expansion program in China.