Technologies · Systems · Solutions - Dürr

Dürr designs and supplies perfectly
matched systems for vehicle final
assembly. The range includes flexible
conveyor systems designed to transport
add-on components and bodies
exactly in accordance with sequence
timing requirements.
Final Assembly Systems business unit
Innovative solutions
strengthen market position
Large order received for final assembly plant in Slovakia
New FAStplant factory concept
Production technology supplied for Airbus A380
Amounts in €m
2004 2003 Change
Total incoming orders 345.7 405.4 –14.7%
Total sales 374.0 445.0 –16.0%
EBITDA 6.0 11.3 –46.9%
EBT 2.0 7.5 –73.3%
Employees at year’s end 1,546 1,593 –3.0%
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As a full-range supplier for the final stage of vehicle assembly, the Final Assembly
Systems business unit, established at the beginning of 2002, has rapidly advanced to
a top position. It is our goal to expand this business further.
To lower its manufacturing costs, the automobile industry needs efficient assembly
lines with flexible possibilities of use. We meet that need with the widest range of products
in the competitive field. We can ourselves supply about 70% of the equipment
needed for a final assembly facility – whether it is a matter of assembly, filling, testing,
or conveyor technologies. Also, as a systems partner, we are able not only to supply
individual equipment, but also to plan and realize complete turnkey assembly lines.
New orders: Demand primarily for conversion and modernization
A very large contract we won at the end of 2004 underscores that we are one of the
top suppliers in systems business. For KIA’s new factory in ˇZilina, Slovakia, we are
planning and realizing a complete final assembly facility worth more than € 40 million.
This contract is a success for Dürr in two respects: It is another showcase project in
final assembly technology and it is extraordinary proof of confidence after KIA had
earlier awarded the Paint Systems business unit the contract for the construction of
a paint shop in ˇZilina.
In general, the automobile industry’s reluctance to invest in the past year led to
noticeably fewer large orders for new final assembly plants throughout the sector.
Instead, our customers awarded more projects for the conversion or modernization
of existing facilities. We received the largest conversion order from Volkswagen
in Mosel, Germany, where we are retooling the final assembly facility to the new
Passat B6. This contract was largely the result of Volkswagen’s satisfaction with the
earlier final assembly retooling we did at the same plant for the Golf A5.
Among the most important operational startups were a complete assembly line in
DaimlerChrysler’s plant in Tuscaloosa, Alabama (USA), conveyor systems and a
marriage station for Land Rover in Solihull near Birmingham, Great Britain, and
a renewed assembly line for the Ford Motor Company in Turkey.