Preh Grows Worldwide and Invests Heavily in Future Technology

NOVI, Mich. - May 12, 2017 - PRLog -- –  Preh GmbH now looks back on a very successful business year in 2016 as it continues to invest heavily in the future, especially at its headquarters in Bad Neustadt, Germany.  As a result of organic growth of 14%, as well as the acquisition of TechniSat Automotive (now Preh Car Connect), the Preh Group increased its revenue from €763 million in 2015 to around €1.18 billion and joined the major league of companies generating sales of at least one billion.

At €80.6 million, Preh GmbH's operating profit before interest and taxes (EBIT), but excluding Preh Car Connect, was approximately 16% above the previous year's figure of EUR 69.6 million. This positive business development was accompanied by a further expansion of Preh's global workforce. At the end of the 2016 financial year, the Group's total number of employees had risen to around 6,620, an increase of 35% from 4,900 employees in 2015.

In the first quarter of 2017, Preh once again exceeded the previous year's revenue and again expects double-digit growth for the year as a whole, including Preh Car Connect GmbH.

According to Christoph Hummel, President and CEO of Preh,  "At Preh, 2016 was characterized by strong organic growth, as well as by the pioneering acquisition of Preh Car Connect. We have carried this momentum into the current fiscal year and can now offer our automotive customers a significantly extended range of products which, in addition to driver control systems and electronic control units for battery management in electric vehicles, now also includes connectivity and telematics solutions. This opens up totally new opportunities for growth. At the same time, in 2016 we also completed a very successful fiscal year in the Automation segment and, with the acquisition of M&R Automation which has now been announced, we created the basis for a completely independent positioning of Preh IMA Automation. In 2017, both automotive supply and the automation business are maintaining their strong growth, so we shall continue to hire highly qualified employees worldwide."

Particularly pleasing is Preh's growth at all its locations in Europe, North America and China. The German locations also continue to benefit greatly from the market successes of the Preh Group in the business areas automotive electronics and automation. Preh is therefore continuing to invest heavily – with the support of its Chinese shareholder Joyson – in the expansion of its head office in Bad Neustadt.

€6.5 million investment in new e-mobility laboratory

Preh will invest around €6.5 million in setting up a new e-mobility laboratory for its Electromobility business segment at its headquarters in Bad Neustadt. In the second half of 2017, the laboratory is scheduled to begin working on the quality qualification of products for the e-mobility sector, especially for high-voltage applications. As a result, total investment in the three most recent large-scale Preh Group projects in Bad Neustadt amounts to around €29 million.

"As an automotive supplier operating globally in an extremely tough competitive environment, we have to weigh investment decisions very carefully and ask ourselves repeatedly which locations demand our focus and attention," said Hummel. "However, especially in research and development, we are convinced that Bad Neustadt should continue to drive our innovative strength. We are therefore also very grateful for the support from the Bavarian State Ministry to make the region an even stronger center for the mobility of tomorrow, which in turn will open up opportunities for further jobs in Bad Neustadt."

PIA's independent positioning and new construction in Bad Neustadt

Following the acquisition of EVANA Automation in Evansville, USA (now PIA Evansville) and the strong systematic growth of the automation business in 2016, Joyson and Preh are taking into account Preh IMA Automation's significantly increased market presence with a completely independent set-up. PIA Automation Holding GmbH has therefore recently been established as a new management company. Both Preh IMA Automation and M&R Automation in Grambach near Graz in Austria, which was acquired at the beginning of May 2017, are now part of PIA Automation Holding GmbH.

PIA will move from Bad Neustadt to its new location at the Altenberg industrial estate by the end of 2018, where PIA's automation specialists will have a production area of around 10,000 square meters. The new location will create state-of-the-art workplaces for the 215 PIA employees currently working in Bad Neustadt. The new headquarters will also provide sufficient space for further growth and new employees. This investment amounts to around €10 million.

Hummel appointed to Joyson's Board of Directors

At the beginning of May 2017 Preh CEO Christoph Hummel was appointed to the Joyson Electronics' Board of Directors, the listed company's highest decision-making body. Joyson founder and majority shareholder Jeff Wang explained, "The Preh management team around Christoph Hummel is doing an excellent job. Within our group, the Preh Group sets standards with regard to product quality, innovation and market growth. It is therefore both logical and also a vote of great confidence that with Christoph Hummel, Preh is now also represented on the Joyson Board."

About Preh

As a global automotive supplier and automation specialist, the Preh Group currently employs around 7,000 people and generates sales of well over €1 billion.  Preh was founded in Bad Neustadt a. d. Saale in 1919 and has been part of the Joyson Group since 2011. Preh's development and manufacturing competencies include, in particular, HMI systems for passenger cars and commercial vehicles, infotainment and connectivity solutions and e-mobility control units, as well as assembly and automation systems. At the beginning of May 2017, Joyson and Preh set a course for an independent positioning of the automation segment.

Within the Joyson Group from Ningbo, China, founded by Jeff Wang in 2004, Preh is a subsidiary of the listed Joyson Electronics Corp. (600699: Shanghai) as the Automotive Electronics Division. Today, Joyson is one of the world's 100 largest automotive suppliers. For more information, please visit http://www.preh.com.