PU converter FS Fehrer Automotive (Kitzingen / Germany; www.fehrer.com) is to downscale its focus on technology and align itself more strongly to products as it repositions itself on the market, according to Bernd Welzel, who became the company's chief executive on 1 July 2007.

Through this realignment, Welzel wants to increase annual sales to EUR 500m by 2012. In 2006 the automotive supplier, which has been heavily supported by a bank consortium since the beginning of 2005, posted sales of EUR 400m with 3,100 employees at 20 sites worldwide.

Three strategic growth areas have been defined: Seat upholstery, seat modules and convertible/coupé trim parts. To respond to the increasing development requirements made by customers, Fehrer has established an independent "advance development" department, which reports direct to the management and operates across all three segments.

The company also wants to increase its interests in joint ventures. Welzel said: "If a company is strategically aligned in a similar way to us and if we can jointly achieve a result that we cannot achieve on our own, there is no reason why we should not set up a partner network. Whether this goes more in the direction of consulting or production would depend on the circumstances."

In the seat upholstery segment, Fehrer sees a competitive advantage in being involved in the entire value chain and wants to raise its market share from the present 25 to 30%. It is looking hard to identify an additional site in eastern Europe to help meet this aim.

In the seat module segment, the aim is essentially to win market share. Fehrer has been active historically in multifunctional centre arm rests but has broadened its offering through "functional integration" and is moving in to side bolsters and seat back panels in order to increase market share.

It has also established a joint venture in headrest production through an agreement, in place since the beginning of 2007, under the name "Nectec" with automotive supplier C. Rob Hammerstein (Solingen / Germany; www.crh-group.com). The jv had been a success, said Fehrer: an order has been received for a newly developed "crash-active" headrest, with delivery scheduled to begin in 2008. A production line is currently being set up at Fehrer's Ceska Lipa site in the Czech Republic.

In a recent step, Fehrer has begun to position itself as a full-service supplier of convertible and coupé trim parts. For small series, the company would rely on its core competencies in product development, and in particular in glass fibre-reinforced polyurethane parts, and in chemical development, in-house machine manufacture and production.

Russia and India will become the focus for overseas development. Here, "specific strategies for entering the market" already existed, said Welzel. The activities in Brazil, where the company was successfully operating with its JV Copo Fehrer, will also be expanded.