A rePort: How is a head- liner actually produced? friedrich ... - polytec

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seen the accounts of the troubled Accessory supplier or without
ever having set foot inside the company, Huemer signed the bill of
sale! “I had limited risk”, he explains, “because I retained an option,
up until the end of October, to hand the company back.” He
now faced a completely new set of challenges. For the fi rst time
he had responsibility for a large work force – more than 200 and
he had to manage a company which already had a broad management
structure.” These fi rst few months had some infl uence on
the current structure of POLYTEC”. Trying to manage the existing
company in Marchtrenk and F/O/R in Horsching was proving a
drain on his time and energy. He really wanted to be in the driving
seat in Horsching, so he had to adapt his management style. “I
had to learn to slacken my hold on the reins, get other people to
do things rather than do everything myself”, says Huemer. Ever
since then, the companies in Marchtrenk have been managed by
his wife Ulrike, with skill and a hands-on approach.
Management team. After a restructuring, which concentrated on
headcount reductions, the in-sourcing of previously out-sourced
work and re-motivation of the workforce, a turnaround was
achieved. The result for fi rst complete fi nancial year was in the
black and in the following year; it trebled its turnover from EUR 15
million to EUR 45 million! 10 years on, the Horsching plant is the
leading operation in the Car Styling Division, which now stands
alongside the Industrial Division as the historic hub of the Group.
As further confi rmation that the acquisition of F/O/R was a sound
decision, two of its former managers Karl Heinz Solly and Alfred
Kollros have become part of the management team which is leading
POLYTEC into the future.
Remain as their supplier. The POLYTEC companies performed
magnifi cently in the early 90’s. Huemer and his team were already
considering which direction they should take for further acquisitions,
when an unexpected setback threatened. Toyota Motor
Europe, the main distributor of Toyota Accessories such as spoilers,
and styling kits in Europe, and an important customer of POLY-
TEC, had placed an order for a new Corolla kit with British competitor
Holden Hydroman. Interested to fi nd out more about their
competitor and its technologies, Huemer asked Karl Heinz Solly to
organize a meeting at their site in Bromyard, England, which was
duly arranged for October.
A few days before the meeting was due to take place, a surprising
memo landed on Huemer’s desk. A London based M&A company
was advising the Austrian investor that Holden Hydroman is up for
sale. Solly responded by advising the English company that “we
confi rm that we will still be attending the proposed meeting … but
the agenda has now completely changed!” “After the fi rst tour of
the factory, I knew that this company would belong to me”, says
Huemer. “When I arrived at the factory for the Due Diligence, I was
astonished when the Managing Director took me to one side to
tell me that Toyota Purchasing and Engineering were on site for a
meeting – he asked for my opinion and we decided that I should
be introduced to the Toyota people as the probable new owner”.
“The Toyota people almost fell off their chairs when they were introduced
to Huemer”, remarks Solly, “but they did tell us that they
POLYTEC
ANNUAL REPORT 2006
PORTRAIT
were happy that we were introducing new companies and that we
could remain in our position as their supplier.”
One billion. What had started off as a small business in a rented
factory had grown immeasurably stronger and it’s driving force
Friedrich Huemer, wanted, after almost 15 years of hard work, to
see some of the fruits of his labour. He began to look for a growth
orientated fi nancial partner who could help him organize a leveraged
buyout and grow the business further. He struck it lucky and
found the Swiss Private Equity Company Capvis, who joined the
POLYTEC GROUP in 2000. By the end of 2000, POLYTEC had
acquired from Lear Corporation, two new companies, in Sweden
and Italy, who focused on SMC body panels. This completely new
area of business required a new division and Polytec Automotive
Composites Division was established. This new division specialized
not just in body panels, but in Engine covers, oil pans as
“It is defi nitly part of our
success, that the existing
management welcomes a take
over by POLYTEC.”
Friedrich Huemer about the strategy of acquisitions
well as functional and structural parts for Heavy Goods Vehicles
and Passenger Cars. The year 2000 saw another landmark in the
development of POLYTEC, when turnover topped one billion Austrian
Schillings for the fi rst time. Rumour has it that when Austria
adopted the Euro, Huemer was stimulated to reach a billion turnover
once again, but this time in Euros!
System supplier. The foundations that created the largest part
of the group, Polytec Automotive Systems Division, with its 11
locations, were already laid down in 1995 when Huemer acquired
the thermoplastic business of the specialist German company
Rentrop. With the take over from DANA Corporation of their thermoplastic
company in Idstein (Germany) and the acquisition of
Riesselmann in Lohne (Germany) a new dynamism was brought
to this branch of the business, turnover exceeded EUR 200 million
for the fi rst time and POLYTEC GROUP now had 3 companies
manufacturing thermoplastic parts for the interior of the car.
2004 saw the biggest single step in the company’s history.
POLYTEC took over the European business of the US Findlay
Group acquiring three factories in Germany, one in Poland, Great
Britain, Spain and South Africa. The Findlay business was integrated
into the Automotive Systems Division and the transition of
the POLYTEC GROUP from components manufacturer to module
and systems supplier was now complete.
Size. With the Acquisition of Findlay, Friedrich Huemer also acquired
a group of managers who are today part of the management
team of the POLYTEC GROUP. “Defi nitely it is part of our
success”, says Huemer, “that the management team of a compa-