German mobility supplier Hubner will be divesting itself of its automotive segment as of 1 April 2020. The business with injection-moulded plastic components will be sold to automotive supplier Gotec Gorschlüter GmbH located in Wülfrath, Germany, close to Wuppertal. Gotec is the world’s leading specialist for coating with rubber-metal adhesion promoters. The Hubner segment that will now be transferred to Gotec includes the production of auto-body parts, car key shells, keypads and accelerator pedals. In the automotive segment Hubner was mainly active as a contract manufacturer. Annual revenues have been in the single-digit million range.
With the sale, the Kassel-based group is continuing with the restructuring and reorientation of its Material Solutions business segment. “We will be concentrating on innovative, technologically sophisticated industries and markets providing high-quality technical solutions that make use of plastics, composite materials and elastomers such as rubber and silicones together with increasing use of sensor systems,” said Hubner General Manager Ingolf Cedra in explaining the background of the transaction.
An important goal moving forward is particularly the company’s aim to consolidate its leading market position in the area of door safety and sealing systems for public transport applications. Among other products, Hubner supplies finger protection profile with integrated sensors to bus and railway manufacturers around the world. Cedra: “In addition, however, the oil and gas industry, the aviation industry and the healthcare field are also all of growing importance for Material Solutions.”
The sale of the automotive unit does not involve the termination of any employees.
With the acquisition of the GWU Group with its approximately 500 employees at the beginning of 2019, Hubner says it already marked the reorientation of the Material Solutions business segment and its increasing importance within the overall corporate group. “The newly organized Material Solutions segment should make a significant contribution to the overall success of the Hubner Group as a whole. To this end, we will continue to enhance our profile, to work even more intensively in the markets where we’re active, and to continue to supply customers with the same high quality,” promised Cedra. Currently more than 1,000 employees are working in the Material Solutions division at 13 locations around the world.