INNOVATIVE AUTO LIGHTING SOLUTIONS Auto rear light specialist odelo is looking forward to new opportunities now that it is part of a major Turkish group.
O
delo develops and produces complex tail light systems and LEDs for the automotive industry. The company is the technology leader in auto tail lights thanks to its strength in innovation and its use of the most up-to-date technologies. In fact, odelo developed and produced the world’s first all-LED tail light system in 1998 and today its engineers continue to develop new products and technologies for the future requirements of the automotive industry. Odelo GmbH was established as a company as recently as 2008 when the tail light unit of the Schefenacker Group was separated from the rest of the business. Schefenacker itself was founded in Esslingen, in southern Germany, in 1935 to produce car interior lights and expanded to include exterior mirrors, tail lights and LED tail light systems. Today odelo employs 1600 people at five locations in Germany and Slovenia.
New ownership In 2011 a new chapter opened in the history of odelo when it was acquired by the Istanbul-based Bayraktarlar Holding, an international trading conglomerate with extensive activities in Turkey. The Turkish company was founded in 1935 by Mehmet Bayraktar and entered the automotive market in 1979 as a supplier to the local automotive industry under its Farba brand. It has a successful track record in developing a national presence in the Turkish automotive lighting business. Bayraktarlar saw the acquisition of odelo as an ideal opportunity to expand its international business and strengthen its market position in the automotive supplier industry in Europe. Ahment Bayraktar,
36 Industry Europe
vice president of Bayraktarlar Holding, said when the acquisition was announced, “odelo’s high quality and innovative product portfolio, its strong technology base and extensive client relations are a perfect match for our existing automotive business. We will be working as partners to ensure that this acquisition will create value for our clients worldwide.” He also made it clear that Bayraktarlar plans to invest in new technology at odelo. “Innovation is the key to future market success and competitiveness in the automotive supply industry. Through knowledge sharing and operational improvements, Bayraktarlar plans to even further enhance odelo’s competitiveness.”
Loyal customers Tail lights are an important contributor to the overall appearance of a vehicle – they have a significant aesthetic role to play as well as making driving safer. Indeed, the complexity of modern tail lights is a reflection of the high level of expectations they have to meet regarding their design, quality and functionality. odelo points out that only a company that has always had the highest expectations for its products’ quality and technology can develop and produce such technologically sophisticated components to meet the ever more complex demands of its customers. odelo claims that it is because its products so clearly stand apart from those of its competitors that its clients remain so loyal. The company delivers most of its products to the major German auto makers, including Audi, BMW, Mercedes Benz, Opel, Porsche and Volkswagen. Overall it has a 20 per cent share of the market in Germany.
