Freudenberg is further expanding its car floor mat business. In Germany, Japan Vilene Co., Ltd., a Freudenberg Business Group, has signed an agreement to acquire Hanns Glass GmbH & Co. KG of Germany.
Hanns Glass is a leading global automotive supplier of car floor mats with a strong European presence and a portfolio complementary to VIAM, one of Japan Vilene’s core businesses with operations in Asia and North America. In 2016, the company generated about 31 million euro in sales, and has some 260 employees.
The transaction is conditional upon approval from the German Federal Cartel Office, and is expected to be completed in the second quarter of this year.
Freudenberg Group CEO, Dr. Mohsen Sohi says, “With the acquisition of the Hanns Glass Group, the VIAM Group will gain access to the European automotive market and, in the future, will be able to supply European carmakers from local production sites.”
The Hanns Glass Group has production sites in Paderborn and Meuselwitz, Germany, and Cheb in the Czech Republic. These sites will serve as the VIAM Group’s European base.
Established in the U.S. in 1984, VIAM is synonymous with high-quality car floor mats and other interior products, and is widely recognized by carmakers as a top global supplier of protective floor mats, specializing in blending value, service and innovation. The group’s worldwide footprint currently includes domestic manufacturing and supply to customers in the U.S., Mexico, Japan, China and Thailand.
Since its establishment in 1960, Japan Vilene has maintained its position as the leading domestic manufacturer of nonwoven materials under the theme of “Engineering Fabric Innovation”, utilizing its raw material expertise and considerable know-how in the areas of production process, equipment technology and nonwoven converting and offering a wide range of products through its Automotive, Medical, Electrical and other Industrial sectors. The company has developed its car floor mats business worldwide. Japan Vilene operates sixteen production sites globally, including two main production sites in Japan. Company employees total 2,300 worldwide.
In very close cooperation with Freudenberg Performance Materials and Freudenberg Filtration Technologies, Japan Vilene operates a network of production and sales joint-venture companies throughout Asia.