One of the most interesting and most successful organizations in the European automotive supplier industry has been built up over the past few years by Schuttersveld N.V. (HQ: Utrechtseweg 46, NL-3704 HD Zeist). The “Kendrion Automotive” Group (Kendrion has since been introduced as the main company name in all the subsidiaries) now consists of nine companies with total sales of around Euro 250m. The most recent activity is the Kendrion Automotive Center GmbH (Frankfurter Str. 74, D-64521 Gross-Gerau). This centre, which is due to be followed by other similar facilities later, supports the individual production plants in developing complete modules for specific parts of the car, and thus also bears responsibility for the development of systems and modules for Kendrion Automotive as a whole. One example is the “Trunk Management” project. Says Dieter Gross from the Kendrion Automotive Center: “We are looking for the market niches in which we can make our mark. The trunk of the car is one such niche. Nowadays, it is still a large, open area, but in a few years it could look completely different if it is fitted with practical stowage systems and all kinds of other functional features”.

In this connection, Kendrion Systems Wächtersbach GmbH (KSW, D-63607 Wächtersbach), the former Varta Plastic GmbH, has received an order from Volkswagen AG (D-38436 Wolfsburg) for a “pioneering new console concept” for the VW Passat “in the battle with the big-name competitors”. Says Schuttersveld: “It is not the fact that this component is the successor to the present-day console that makes the contract so important for KSW, but because the new design will also form the basis for all future consoles within the entire VW Group.”