Car components company Ficosa buys the American Camryn

Madrid (ACN).- Ficosa, which has its headquarters in Barcelona’s Metropolitan Area, announced today the purchase of Camryn, a North-American car mirror manufacturer. Ficosa is a manufacturer of car components, a key piece of the Catalan automobile industry, which is present in 19 different countries. Camryn sold 50 million dollars worth of car wing mirrors in 2010. Ficosa sold about 1,000 million euros worth of car components.  According to the Catalan company, the purchase will enable Ficosa to increase its presence on the US and Mexico markets by 20%. It will also help the company to diversify its client list as it enlarges its quota of Asian manufacturers, passing from the current 2% to 25%. The purchase will strengthen Ficosa’s main plant in Viladecavalls (South of Barcelona), as a high-level technological centre focused on cars, electronics, energy and communications. Ficosa’s strategy is to foster the diversification of its business and its presence abroad, particularly in Asia.

According to Ficosa, Camryn is the 3rd US company bought by the Catalan multinational business in the last 2 years. The objective is to consolidate its presence in the North-American market (Mexico included) and become one of the market’s main suppliers. In fact, thanks to these purchases, the group now holds the 28.7% share of the car mirrors’ market in the US and Mexico. Ficosa already has fabrication plants in Indiana, Tennessee, Kentucky and Monterrey, as well as a technical centre in Michigan.

The company will focus on the Asian market in the next few years. Ficosa’s forecast is that Asia will generate 30% of the group’s sales in the next five years. For this reason, it plans to increase its presence in the continent with 2 new assembling centres that will complement its Shanghai factory.

The company is present in 19 countries. The group’s strategy foresees selling more than 1,000 million euros in 2011. However, its strategy plans a diversification of the group’s business to focus a high-level technology. Ficosa will foster its main centre in Catalonia - in Viladecavalls. It will transform it into a high technology centre on cars, electronics and energy. 600 engineers will work in it, innovating, experimenting and developing new products. According to Ficosa’s President, Josep Maria Pujol, “the main challenge in 2011 will be to integrate this plant in a fast and effective way, as well as activating all its production and development capacities in relation to electronic systems”.