Shaping the future Standard Profil

Standard Profil is a global leader in the manufacture of automotive sealing and weatherproofing systems for the world’s biggest OEMs. Philip Yorke looks at the latest developments of an exceptional company and its takeover by the Indian industrial conglomerate The Rula Group, as well as its recent awardwinning achievements.

SHAPING THE FUTURE

Standard Profil was founded in 1977 by Rafit Kamhi in Istanbul, Turkey, and quickly won its first contract for producing weather strips for Oyak-Renault, a Turkish joint venture company working in association with Renault of France. The company continued to prosper during the 1980s, and in 1990 made its first exports to Germany and subsequently added General Motors to its customer portfolio, who awarded it the ‘Best Supplier of the Year’ on eight separate occasions. Continuous investment in new technology resulted in a leap in sales to almost €90 million in 2007. By 2010 more than 60 per cent of all Standard Profil’s sales were destined for export markets and in the same year the company recorded sales of over €180 million.

Acquisition accelerating growth

Following its continuous, uninterrupted growth throughout the past decade, a private, equityled consortium entered into a binding agreement to sell 100 per cent of the Standard Profil AS company to the Rula Group of India. This transaction was duly signed into law, following standard antitrust approvals, which were received in the third quarter of 2011.

Standard Profil remains one of Turkey’s greatest business success stories and currently has manufacturing facilities in Turkey, Bulgaria, South Africa and China. The company is also the fastest-growing tier-one supplier of rubber profile and weather strip products in the industry, serving the world’s biggest automotive OEMs.

The company acquiring Standard Profil is the Rula Group, which is a major Indian industrial conglomerate with core businesses in infrastructure equipment, automotive ancillaries and tyres. The group has built a strong presence throughout Europe with sales totalling more than €700 million.

Commenting on this significant development, Mr Pawan K. Rula, chairman of the Rula Group said, “We are very pleased to have signed a deal to acquire such a rapidly growing company. This acquisition is in line with the Rula Group’s strategy to consolidate in the automotive industry and its plans to emerge as a clear global leader in the automotive ancillary industry. The addition of a market leader such as Standard Profil to the Rula Group portfolio will accelerate our growth”.

Mr Andreas Engel, CEO of Standard Profil responded by saying, “My management team and I are very excited to continue the successful growth of our sealing business under the umbrella of the Rula Group and to expand the services for our customers into new regions.”

The transaction was led by the private equity company, Bancroft Private Equity, which specialises in investing in central and eastern Europe and Turkey. Since the launch of its first fund in 1996, Bancroft has invested in 16 leading European companies, with 11 exits including that of Standard Profil.

Rewarding service excellence

In 2010 the chairman of the VW board of management, Professor Dr Martin Winterkom said in presenting the prestigious award for ‘Best Supplier of the Year’ to Standard Profil, “There is an ongoing need for innovative, efficient and reliable suppliers to support the achievement of VW’s objective of becoming the leading global

automobile producer by the year 2018.” This award adds to the countless others awarded to Standard Profil since its inception in 1977.

The secret of Standard Profil’s success is in part due to its commitment to investing in the latest technology. For one of its main strengths according to one of its top sales managers, Mr Burak Senbak, is the fact that while the company produces goods which more than match the quality of its European counterparts, Standard Profil is able to carry out its work at much greater speed and with more flexibility. Such is the level of the company’s customer service that it can design and produce new products four times quicker than its competitors. Once specifications are received for a new product, the company begins its design process in order to meet the customer’s individual requirements. A recent example of this was the development of automotive parts for the next passenger car being developed by General Motors in Mexico, where Standard Profil met all the necessary criteria before the contracted due date and within budget.

New Technocentre sets the standards

Standard Profil has always placed a high priority on its commitment to innovation and customer service. This culture of best practice resulted in the establishment of one of the world’s most advanced R&D centres in Turkey. The Duzce Technocentre is where all the company’s new products are developed and tested. This state-of-the-art research centre is equipped with the very latest technology and staffed by experienced engineers to meet the changing demands of its customers and the industry.

At Standard Profil, a long and complex journey of creativity and discovery starts with a blank sheet and a clay model, and ends with the series production of high quality automotive sealing systems. Delivering these advanced systems requires continuous innovation and research as well as the benchmarking of products being tested against those of its competitors. Furthermore, the company’s project management teams play a key role in ensuring effective coordination of both internal and external expertise. Standard Profil believes that excellent, well-funded product development is essential for its future success and for that of its customers. n