TI Automotive Wins Two Major Fuel System Contracts in First Year
6 March 2000
TI Automotive Wins Two Major Fuel System Contracts in First Year
WARREN, Mich.--March 6, 2000--Seven months after its creation, TI Group Automotive Systems is a company on the move. Over half of the world's annual car production relies on its fluid-carrying technologies, according to Allan Welsh, the company's chief executive.The company has won major contracts from two of the world's largest manufacturers to supply fluid carrying systems for future vehicle platforms, he reported. TI Automotive has been awarded a contract by a leading global manufacturer to supply complete fuel tank systems for a new car program due to go into production in five of the customer's facilities on two continents in 2003. The contract will be worth up to $120 million per year at full volume.
The company also has won a $14 million contract to supply fuel and brake lines for the best-selling compact pick-up truck made in the U.S.
For the global car program, TI Automotive will supply a fuel tank system that meets all pending global environmental standards, including the latest and toughest federal and California standards in the United States, known as LEV II. The system includes the fuel tank, filler pipe, fuel delivery module, turbine fuel pump and fuel and vapor lines. Commenting on TI Automotive's successful first months, Welsh said the company has a 15 percent share of worldwide fuel storage and delivery systems, about 40 percent of brake fluid carrying markets, and 20 percent of air-conditioning fluid carrying markets. Operating from a network of over 150 sites in 29 countries, half of this business is in North America, 35 percent in Europe, and the remainder in Asia Pacific and Latin America.
TI Automotive is the only independent designer and manufacturer of integrated fuel storage and delivery systems on a global basis. The company can provide everything between a vehicle's filler cap and its engine fuel rail, and also holds a strong market position in brake and powertrain fluid handling systems. Formed in June, 1999 following the acquisition of Walbro Corporation by the UK-based TI Group, the company brings together two long-established automotive brands: Walbro's fuel storage and delivery systems and Bundy's fluid carrying systems. The combination of Walbro and Bundy opens new business opportunities in the high-growth fuel systems market segment, he noted. "We see substantial growth potential for our advanced, multi-layer composite fuel tanks," he said. Developed by Walbro, they are capable of meeting the strictest pending emissions standards. In North America, only 40 percent of fuel tanks are plastic, while in Europe around 80 percent of cars have plastic tanks, but the majority of these are single layer. In Asia Pacific the proportion is less than 10 percent. "The trend towards supplying integrated systems enables us to increase considerably the value per vehicle we supply," Welsh said. "Before the acquisitions of S&H and Walbro, TI Automotive's average contracts was about $30 a car. We are now winning contracts with a value of $200 or more."
"In the braking systems market, the trend towards high pressure, rapid response braking systems also brings new opportunities to add greater value," Welsh said.
"We have developed design solutions for the demands of ABS and electronic stability programs including lower cost assembly and reduced noise, vibration and harshness. As a result, the value of product we supply per vehicle for models such as the Audi TT and VW Polo is significantly enhanced." In automotive air conditioning, TI Group Automotive Systems is expanding its technology from North America to Europe in several contracts, Welsh said. These include supply to the GM Zafira and Astra and new business wins for the successor to the GM/Renault Trafic/MiniVan. Besides systems for vehicles, TI Automotive includes three other businesses. Bundy Refrigeration is a world leading supplier of cooling systems for the refrigeration industry, Walbro Engine Management is a leader in small carburetor and ignition systems for garden, marine and two-wheeled vehicles and Vari-Form is a leader in hydro-forming technology for vehicle structural components. Vari-Form was the first to introduce hydroforming technology to the automotive industry in 1984. Using water pressure to form metals into structural components, hydroforming is changing the way auto designers approach body and chassis structure. TI Automotive's Vari-Form division won a significant contract in 1999 to supply a front end structure to a major North American manufacturer, which will contribute to a doubling of its sales by 2003.
TI Group Automotive Systems is a unit of TI Group plc, one of the world's leading specialized engineering companies. Listed on the London Stock Exchange and headquartered in the UK, TI Group operates globally with more than 40,000 people at more than 400 manufacturing and customer service facilities in more than 45 countries.
In North America, TI Group employs more than 16,000 people at more than 120 facilities.
Further information about TI Group and its businesses can be found on the Internet at http://www.tigroup.com.