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Valeo: First Industrial Investment in South Africa Joint Venture With Metair

13 March 2000

Valeo: First Industrial Investment in South Africa Joint Venture With Metair

    PARIS--March 10, 2000--Valeo announced today its first industrial investment in South Africa by signing a joint venture agreement with the company Metair, a specialist in automotive products.
    Under the agreement, a new company, "Valeo Systems South Africa," will at first be dedicated to the production of front end modules for Volkswagen. It will subsequently be expanded to other Valeo products and systems for the entire automotive industry, which is expanding greatly in South Africa.
    Valeo will be the majority shareholder in the company with a 51% stake.
    The other shareholder, Metair, is a South African automotive supplier specialized in a wide variety of products. Metair's sales in 1999 totaled 150 million euros.
    The joint venture is located in Uitenhage, close to Port Elisabeth.

    Valeo is an independent industrial Group fully focused on the design, production and sale of components, integrated systems and modules for cars and trucks, and ranks among the world's top automotive suppliers. The Group has 118 plants, 39 R&D centers, 10 distribution centers and employs 51,700 people in 20 countries worldwide.
    More information on the Group and its businesses is available on our Web site: www.valeo.com