Toray Industries, Inc. has concluded an agreement with AB Anders Westerlind to purchase all of the shares of Alva Sweden AB (ASE), a manufacturer of cushions for automotive airbag systems, acquiring ASE as well as its two subsidiaries; i.e., Alva Confecções S.A. of Portugal and Alva Tunisia SA of Tunisia. AB Anders Westerlind wholly owns ASE.
The transaction would close soon after required official procedures are completed.
Manufacturing cushions for automotive airbag systems in Europe since 1997, Alva has earned an outstanding reputation among leading European module manufacturers for its original technologies and manufacturing expertise with state-of-the-art facilities.
Toray has built positive ties with Alva over the years through the supply of fabrics. The acquisition agreement is the fruit of discussions between the two companies that started in 2018. Toray hopes to accelerate advances in its integrated operations by entering more downstream business of cushions and extending its supply chain, thereby driving ongoing growth in the airbag business in response to market changes.
The acquisition should enable Toray to enhance direct relationship and dealings with module manufacturers and, through them, with automakers, and should enable it to swiftly identify the latest airbag development trends and customer needs. Toray also looks forward to incorporating Alva’s cushion-manufacturing expertise in fabric design to bolster its product development and proposal capabilities by drawing on more robust fibers, fabrics and sewing integration. The company aims to help materialize high-performance airbags by heightening its presence among module manufacturers and automakers.