TRANSFORMING CHANGE INTO PERFORMANCE

Large parts of the European automotive industry have been facing structural pressure since 2017, and many suppliers have since run into economic difficulties. Expectations for new growth momentum and a recovery of the industry in the medium term are low. POLYTEC responded early to this development, set new strategic priorities and developed its business model with a stronger focus on the non-automotive sector. As a result, the group is positioned on a broad foundation with well-defined technological competencies.

Adaptability and agility have defined our business activities for many years – properties that have enabled POLYTEC time and again to operate successfully in the past, even under challenging market conditions.
Markus Huemer
CEO

2026 marks POLYTEC’s 40th anniversary. Established in 1986, the company has evolved from a small business into a group with approximately 3,000 employees and sites on four continents. In addition to an impressive business development, however, the POLYTEC GROUP’s history also involves macroeconomic turbulence as well as far-reaching economic and structural changes – and one constant: in all those years, POLYTEC managed to adapt to changed market conditions, always emerging stronger from periods of transformation.

Consistent restructuring and targeted capacity adjustments represented another central element on the path towards the POLYTEC GROUP’s long-term economic viability. Between 2017 and April 2026, existing plants were closed or sold, the company invested in the acquisition or expansion of new sites and transferred numerous orders and facilities across Europe, without jeopardising the supply of customers – certainly a remarkable logistical and organisational achievement. Furthermore, by the end of 2025, staff was reduced by roughly 1,500 employees, i.e. roughly 30 percent of the workforce compared to 2017. By mid-2026, a further 200 employees are to be reduced. These measures are drastic, but necessary to adjust the cost structure to the changed market conditions, which were most recently marked by declining unit numbers, high volatility of call-offs, and overcapacity among OEMs and suppliers.

In addition, POLYTEC focused on consistent cash and capital management, enabling the company to secure liquidity and a solid financing structure at all times even during economically challenging periods.

The POLYTEC GROUP’s focus topics

Operational Excellence & Business Transformation
Targeted investments in innovation and technology
Specific growth strategy for the automotive and non-automotive sectors

The POLYTEC GROUP’s focus topics

Revenue 2025

€ 0 Mio

EBIT 2025

€ 0 Mio

Guidance 2026 (EBIT margin)

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Operational excellence: basis for trust and economic efficiency

Along with the measures described above, processes were streamlined and standardised across the group, structures were simplified and far-reaching efficiency programmes were implemented. Operational excellence became a central management task. The overarching goal: based on innovative and efficient production processes, POLYTEC aims to become the preferred partner for plastic solutions in the industry – supported by the targeted use of smart AI solutions and the realignment of the company’s own lean management system, PPES.

Strict commercial discipline was another key element: strict working capital management, clearly defined financial targets and conscious capital expenditure strengthened the balance sheet on a sustained basis. In this way, the trust of financing partners remained high even in challenging times – proving the company’s solid positioning and the credibility of its strategic focus.

At the same time, POLYTEC made targeted investments in expanding its capacities in the form of brownfield and greenfield projects, acquisitions as well as a number of future topics: in the automotive segment, expertise was steadily expanded in the areas of battery housings, thermal management and lightweight design for electric vehicles. Today, applications for the conventional combustion engine directly account for less than 20 percent of the product portfolio, meaning that significant progress has been made towards diversification.

Targeted investments in innovation and technology: a steppingstone to new markets

In addition to the reorientation of the automotive business towards electromobility, POLYTEC expanded its offering of the Smart Plastic Applications business area to include a variety of non-automotive applications. This followed the strategic decision to systematically transfer the company’s technological and industrial expertise and its innovative strength to new markets.

A new approach to market development, which deliberately goes beyond a purely technology-driven perspective, formed the basis. It is no longer the respective manufacturing technology that is at the starting point of new orders – rather, the company focuses on concrete customer needs. In doing so, POLYTEC combines the entire know-how of the group to develop customised product solutions across technologies which optimally meet the customers’ actual requirements. The company considers itself a development and manufacturing partner who, in collaboration with its customers, realises economically viable and sustainable products.

In the area of Smart Plastic Applications, market access is based on three different paths: via new developments for, and in cooperation with, long-standing customers, via industrialisation and scaling of products developed by external innovators, and via the development and manufacturing of product ideas for new customers. Some promising contracts have already been obtained in this way, while other projects are nearing market maturity.

In this context, reusable packaging is an important growth area. Building on long-standing expertise in the production of logistics boxes, POLYTEC is currently addressing a range of such projects and concepts, including recyclable plant trays and shelf-ready boxes for retail, and other transport solutions. The transfer of know-how from the automotive segment – for example in the choice of materials, process stability, quality management and industrialisation – provides the basis for new competitive products. Non-automotive solutions already make a substantial contribution to risk diversification and stability of POLYTEC’s business model today. In the medium term, the target for this business segment is to generate around 30 percent of the group’s revenue.

A market under pressure

Since 2017, the market environment has become noticeably more challenging for European automotive suppliers. Production figures are significantly below peak levels of the past, overcapacities burden the industry, and the transformation towards electromobility is less dynamic than originally forecast. In addition, raw material prices are volatile, energy and personnel costs are increasing, and there are political uncertainties and growing competition from the Far East.

After 2017, automotive production in Europe saw a massive decline and is not expected to return to past numbers of 20 million vehicles or more per year in the near future. POLYTEC responded to this trend early by implementing targeted measures across three lines of action, including the expansion of the non-automotive business.

Automotive

Established development and manufacturing partner of the automotive industry for many years
Strong positioning in the electromobility segment

Non-Automotive

Smart Plastic Applications as a future-oriented growth area
Know-how transfer from automotive to non-automotive
Strong customer base as a starting point for new projects
Differentiated market access

Differentiated growth strategy for automotive and non-automotive: fully leverage potential

A spirit of innovation and technology know-how have always been core elements of POLYTEC’s strategy and characterise all strategic decisions made in the company. In 2020, the group defined a number of technology-independent Product Lines as part of the POLYTEC SOLUTION FORCE. POLYTEC has since relied even more strongly on its wide range of technologies as a USP in its market development efforts, focusing on optimal solutions for the respective customer application.

POLYTEC thus responded to the above-mentioned weakness of the automotive industry, intending to tap into new markets outside the industry and to accelerate growth in the non-automotive business. The company aims to grow organically in this area and makes targeted investments in expanding non-automotive capacities, without giving up its proven mainstay as an automotive supplier. The company’s portfolio comprises a variety of promising product innovations today, particularly in the electromobility segment. However, POLYTEC is currently pursuing a defensive wait-and-see strategy in the automotive segment, monitoring the market development, selectively capitalising on attractive opportunities and investing in new manufacturing facilities where needed using a risk-averse approach.

The investment areas include an increase in value-added depth, above all through vertical integration. This ambition is underpinned by the targeted expansion of the company’s own material development and production. At selected sites, semi-finished products are manufactured in-house or new materials – including innovative UD tapes, organosheets, multi-layer sandwich semi-finished products or SMC semi-finished products – are developed. In this way, the company aims to increase its independence from supply chains on the one hand and to add competitive product solutions for new customer groups to its portfolio on the other. Read more about material development and production starting on page 33.

As part of its strategic portfolio management, the POLYTEC GROUP focuses on selected product fields and on bundling technologies expected to yield significant synergistic effects and long-term growth. For POLYTEC, growth means developing solutions in collaboration with existing or new customers and partners, thus ensuring sustainable profitability. Growth at any price is not the goal. Rather, it is crucial to employ the group’s own technological expertise where long-term perspectives and stable partnerships are created.

POLYTEC is, and will remain, an automotive supplier – with a profound understanding of the industry and technological breadth. At the same time, we have evolved into a diversified plastics specialist with a growing non-automotive business in recent years. This is the strategic path we will continue to pursue.
Markus Huemer
CEO

Position sustainably strengthened

After several years of intensive transformation, POLYTEC is in a significantly stronger position today. The cost base has been adjusted, the balance sheet is stable, and the portfolio increasingly diversified. Dependence on individual customers is being reduced and the company is more resilient when facing structural transformation. The turnaround is not only reflected in operations, but embedded in the strategy. POLYTEC has proven that flexibility, discipline and innovative strength are not a contradiction, but can mutually reinforce one another.