POWER ON!

DIVERSITY AND CUTTING-EDGE TECHNOLOGY FOR SUSTAINABLE SUCCESS

In a persistently difficult economic environment POLYTEC scores with enormous technological diversity and innovative strength. The group uses these USPs for targeted market development. The result: success in new market segments and a record order intake in 2022.

In May 2022, POLYTEC CEO Markus Huemer accepted a highly prestigious award: the Global Purchasing Supplier Excellence Award of Jaguar Land Rover. POLYTEC has supplied the British premium manufacturer with complex, customised plastic solutions for many years. But the award ceremony was all about one single project: the production of the new Range Rover Sport SV, where POLYTEC impressed with its spirit of partnership and reliability in a turbulent economic environment. Specifically, the company delivered ready-to-install bumper systems for the performance SUV of the luxury segment, which is considered the fastest of its kind in the industry.

At the presentation of the prize, Markus Huemer thanked not only Jaguar Land Rover for many years of good and reliable collaboration, but also the employees of the POLYTEC GROUP. After all, it is their accumulated technological expertise, their creativity and their commitment that enable the development of exceptional plastic components – like those for Jaguar Land Rover. Neither the material nor the application sets the pace in this process – in POLYTEC’s engineering customer requirements alone lead the way.

In recent years the POLYTEC GROUP’s capability to deliver solutions has been further enhanced by an extensive reform initiative: Under the title ONE POLYTEC, the group successfully underwent a profound structural and organisational transformation. Processes were standardised across the group, and information and communication were bundled. This massively increased the POLYTEC GROUP’s clout in all business areas – especially in engineering.

The area dealing with the development of new product solutions and optimising production processes was upgraded by the creation of the POLYTEC SOLUTION FORCE in 2019. In this completely new sales approach, the market is no longer developed along technology-based business units, but rather based on seven technology-independent product lines, which focus on innovation and new ideas. To this end, it is necessary to bundle all material, technology and manufacturing expertise in the group and exploit it for the development of new products. In the past financial year, the combined power arising from many years of reform efforts unfolded for the first time: POLYTEC recorded the highest level of incoming orders in the history of the company in 2022.

PASSION CREATES INNOVATION

The reasons for this success: POLYTEC uses the group’s entire expertise focused for engineering, and can therefore address many new topics and offer completely new product solutions in the market. But that is not nearly everything. POLYTEC not only develops new components but also delivers the production technology along with them. Especially in the new business of the Smart Plastic Applications Product Line, production expertise is a decisive factor due to large quantities and sophisticated technologies. POLYTEC also uses its decades of experience in the automotive industry for the efficient and economical manufacture of products in the non-automotive segment. In addition, POLYTEC also secured new major contracts in the automotive sector in 2022, so the group participates in several new platforms of European premium manufacturers.

Thinking in the big picture

On the one hand, POLYTEC puts its technological know-how at the service of its customers in the form of products. On the other hand, the company also strives for development partnerships with strategically important OEMs, most notably in the areas of e-vehicles and battery applications. It is not unusual that win-win situations are identified along the way and lead to concrete orders. The collaboration with FlyNow is one such example. The company works on 3D mobility and is currently developing an autonomously controlled air taxi. POLYTEC will supply a broad spectrum and large quantity of components for the series production of the aircraft. Read more about it on page 10 of this report. Most importantly, however, POLYTEC uses its technological and development expertise to strengthen its position as a highly competent partner for metal substitution, lightweight construction, functional integration, circular economy, recyclability and other hot topics of the future. All of this is essential for POLYTEC’s relationship with its customers.

Along with the very high level of incoming orders in the 2022 financial year, POLYTEC also expects a substantial increase in revenue. A number of projects that started out in recent years are expected to reach full volume for the first ime in 2023. The required production capacity is available, with no major investments necessary.

These positive developments are remarkable – especially given the enormously challenging economic environment: a pandemic with effects that are still tangible, Russia’s attack on Ukraine, high energy prices, a massive increase in inflation, disrupted supply chains, volatile call-offs, fundamental changes in the automotive market and a persisting shortage of labour. Rarely did industry have to face more diverse challenges. But POLYTEC is relatively well off in this situation because the structural streamlining of the past years set up an outstanding organisational as well as technological foundation based on which the group can perfectly use its enormous know-how to develop the market.

With the POLYTEC SOLUTION FORCE, POLYTEC not only strengthened its position among existing customers, but is also in a significantly better position to develop new segments.
As a technology partner for complex plastic solutions, the company is more sought-after than ever. A good reason for the POLYTEC GROUP to look to the future with optimism, even in times of multiple challenges.

POWER ON!

PLASTIC SOLUTIONS FOR AN ELECTRIC FUTURE

The transition to e-mobility is one of the biggest game changers in the automotive industry. In addition to the establishment of electric drive trains, it also has an impact on the industry’s extended environment. New forms of energy production, new storage technology and new mobility concepts such as logistics drones or electrically powered aircraft provide answers to the most pressing questions of the climate crisis and the dependence on fossil fuels. With its technological, development and manufacturing expertise, POLYTEC offers solutions along the entire value chain on the way to an electric and environmentally friendly future.