Innovative systems for a global market

With its innovative systems and global reach, Cooper Standard Automotive Inc. is a leading automotive supplier with a clear focus on ecological and technological improvement.

Cooper Standard Automotive Inc. has a real global reach, proven by its more than 70 locations in 19 countries and by its 21,000 employee workforce, and offers solutions in the body sealing, fuel, brake and emissions, thermal management and anti-vibration segments of the industry.

Specifically, its range of products include fuel and brake delivery systems and emission management technologies, complete heating and cooling management components and systems for hybrids, electric vehicles and internal combustion engines and power trains, body sealing solutions to keep noise, dust and water away from vehicle occupants, as well as a complete range of anti-vibration control products.

The group, established in 1960 and headquartered in Novi, Michigan (USA), has been growing through a series of acquisitions and organic growth and operates with a mission stating its aim as that of ‘providing outstanding service, support and innovative solutions to our customers, benefiting all stakeholders of Cooper Standard.’

In Europe the company supplies all the major OEMs in the automotive sector and in each country is focused on fulfilling the needs of its local market. Germany hosts three of the company’s sites, one in Landau and two in Mannheim. In Germany the company specialises in manufacturing sealing parts for leading German automotive manufacturers. Here the company operates with a high level of integration with the group. In fact, in Germany there is a common management team which can avail itself of the support and the solid foundations of the global company. The company occupies a market leading position in Germany in terms of sealing products for European OEMs, thanks to its wide portfolio offer.

In fact, central to the group’s offer of integrated solutions, there is operational excellence, firmly rooted in quality and lean initiatives, supply chain management and capacity optimisation, alongside invaluable human resources, in the form of an experienced management team, expert engineers, and manufacturing and professional staff. This operational excellence is accompanied by a real culture of innovation. Tangible proof of this

commitment can be found in the awards held by Cooper Standard, which include PACE, Society of Plastic Engineers, Global Six Sigma Award Best Achievement of Design and Six Sigma, as well as by the over 500 patents obtained worldwide.

Community and employee involvement are part of the life of the group, alongside green initiatives, which for the last few years have been of increasing importance. Continuous research and effort is channelled into improving a vehicle’s overall carbon footprint. Alongside this Cooper Standard carries out constant work on enhancing its manufacturing processes, thus reducing its own company emissions and increasing recyclability. The R&D department at the Mannheim site which, thanks to conspicuous investments, is equipped with cutting-edge testing and engineering facilities, is very focused on research aimed at improving products and processes at environmental levels. Products comply with E05/E06 regulations with regard to cleaner emissions, and this is an area of development which has been growing in recent years. A wider offer, still keeping a green heart

An ecological frame of mind is important for both environmental and commercial reasons and thanks to its focus on innovation, as well as to the company commitment to quality and service, new solutions offer advantages in ecological terms, as well as in terms of better performance and better comparative pricing.

While in the past the company had a focus on supplying the actual sealing, in the last few years Standard Cooper has increasingly widened its offer to include complete sealing systems fulfilling customers’ demands, with

the advantage that now clients only have to deal with one supplier for the whole system. In fact, in recent times, the strategy has been one of widening the products portfolio, alongside the continual improvement of the existing offer. At the global level, Cooper Standard Automotive, which is a sponsor and partner of Brad Keselowski Racing (BKR), is witnessing the rapid growth of non-traditional Cooper Standard markets, namely markets adjacent to the light vehicle sector, as well as other key areas, such as commercial vehicles, off-highway, power sports, marine, construction and other specialty segments. This creates an excellent opportunity for the company to leverage its technical capabilities in order to provide more solutions to customers outside the automotive OEM market. This area is taken care of by Cooper Standard’s Performance Products Group, which combines the former businesses of StanPro in North America, Technical Rubber Products and Specialty Products Group in Europe, and Tecalemit in Australia.

Despite the current economic situation, mainly affecting volumes on the European market, and an unfavourable foreign exchange rate, the company has been able to reaffirm its sales outlook for 2012, thanks to a volume increase in North America. In the words of its chief executive officer, Jeffrey Howard: “Our global footprint has been invaluable in managing headwinds in challenging markets. Cooper Standard has been able to deliver a relatively strong quarter despite lower volumes and ongoing weakness in Europe. As we support our customers, Cooper Standard will continue to win diverse global platform business, while focusing on meeting the demand for more fuelefficient technologies.” n

Mikon www.mikon.waw.pl e-mail: info@mikon.waw.pl tel. 48 22 8127104

Mikon company specialises in the production of devices using UV and IR drying systems for various applications in industry: automotive, printing, packaging.

left: device made for Cooper Standard Oven (for curing coatings of lacquer/glue on surface of car seals, 6m long)