Valmet Automotive

ELECTRIFICATION AND INNOVATION IN EUROPEAN AUTOMOTIVE MANUFACTURING

VALMET AUTOMOTIVE

THE FUTURE FROM FINLAND

A key player in the European automotive manufacturing industry, we spoke to Valmet Automotive about the company’s multiple business lines and its roots and growth into the up-and-coming EV manufacturing space Writer: Marcus Kääpä | Project Manager: Matthew Taylor

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MANUFACTURING

E

urope is home to a substantial vehicle and automotive industry.

Mercedes-Benz, Porsche and Saab are just a few of the well-known and respected brands that come to mind. And throughout Europe it is the many manufacturers that keep the wheels of the industry turning.

Valmet Automotive is one such company and a key driving force of automotive production in the European space. Having been founded in 1968, the Finnish company employs approximately 4,500 people across Finland, Germany and Poland, and has been providing quality automotive manufacturing services for over 50 years.

Valmet Automotive’s core is made up of three primary business lines; at the heart of this is the manufacturing business line. Within this area the company provides contract manufacturing from its headquarters in Uusikaupunki (Finland) as Olaf Bongwald, CEO of Valmet Automotive, explains.

“Here we produce cars for all kinds of original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) in the automotive industry,” he tells us. “We started with Saab and then we produced Porsche, and since around 2012 we began producing cars for Mercedes-Benz.

“Our second line of business we took over in 2010, and this consists of roofing and kinematic systems for convertible cars, cabriolets, and in doing so have expanded our portfolio to include things such as adjustable spoiler systems that are designed to perform the important task of reducing energy consumption while driving.”

On top of this, Valmet Automotive’s third business line concerns electric vehicles (EVs). Having been started up at the beginning of 2019, the company’s movement to increase its focus on EV manufacturing was aimed to answer the growing demand EME Outlook issue 41 | 3

VALMET AUTOMOTIVE

DSV One of Valmet Automotive’s main LSPs since 2013 DSV was founded in 1976 when ten owner-operated hauliers joined forces and established DSV. Since then DSV has executed several acquisitions: DFDS Dan Transport, Frans Maas, ABX Logistics, UTi Worldwide, Panalpina, becoming the world’s fourth largest logistics company.

VALMET AUTOMOTIVE AT THE CORE Since the founding of Valmet Automotive in 1968, the company has stood for holistic vehicle manufacturing on behalf of renowned OEMs. More than 1.7 million vehicles - such as for Mercedes-Benz, Saab and Porsche – have left its production lines to date in Uusikaupunki, Finland. Flexibility and agility, paired with an economical mindset, are what this business line is all about, and it is what makes Valmet Automotive a coveted partner to the automotive industry.

Contract manufacturing is the root of the company; the area that gave it a name in the industry, yet not a thing of the past. On the contrary, ongoing innovation and increasing quality and productivity are an integral part of Valmet Automotive’s contract manufacturing process that remains a key component of company operations.

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of the EV market; a space that has only kept growing since, with many regional and global automotive producers investing in the sector.

“In this area we manufacture everything involving battery systems for the electrification of the cars,” Bongwald says. “We started with 48-volt systems produced in a former Nokia plant and we then extended our portfolio to higher voltage systems for hybrid EVs as well as full battery EVs. Valmet Automotive manufactures and offers the full range of modern battery systems that are supporting the industry transformation into automotive electrification.”

Bongwald had always held an affinity for machines. In his youth Bongwald’s interest in vehicles and technical innovation led him through education and all the way to studying Mechanical Engineering at the University of Dortmund.

“Of course, this topic automatically leads you to the manufacturing industry somewhat,” he points out. “My focus at the time lay in organisation and management as well as technologies. So, I ended up in the automotive industry that I have remained in for 26 years.”

Bongwald has witnessed the automotive manufacturing industry change during a revolutionary

Our annual turnover is approx. 15 Billion euros and we employ about 56.000 logistics professionals world-wide, of which 350 in Finland.

DSV have own offices in more than 90 countries and together with our network of partners we operate in over 120 countries.

+358 (0)20 738 8388 info@fi.dsv.com www.dsv.com/fi

Finnlines Finnlines is a leading shipping operator of ro-ro and passenger services in the Baltic Sea, the North Sea and the Bay of Biscay.

The Company is a part of the Grimaldi Group, one of the world’s largest operators of ro-ro vessels and the largest operator of the Motorways of the Sea in Europe for both passengers and freight. This affiliation enables Finnlines to offer liner services to and from any destination in the Mediterranean, West Africa as well as the Atlantic coast of both North and South America.

finnlines.com

MANUFACTURING

Tel: +358 (0)20 738 8388 Email: info@fi.dsv.com Web: www.dsv.com

In 2020 we transported

723,000 cargo units

Finland’s seaway to the world Finnlines’ eco-friendly and modern fleet transports both cargo and passengers safely to their destinations.

Finnlines plays a very significant role in the transport of medicines, food supplies and other consumer goods important to Finland. Finnlines is also a major operator in the transport of industrial products, spare parts, machinery and equipment. Finnlines provides the main sea bridges from Finland to Europe.

New energy efficient vessels Finnlines will invest EUR 0.5 billion to growing its environmentally friendly fleet and to ensuring Finland’s security of supply. The most efficient tonnage in the industry serves societies and customers responsibly.

1,107,000 tons of non-unitised freight

154,000 cars

501,000 passengers

Contact us at finnlines.com

EME Outlook issue 41 | 5

VALMET AUTOMOTIVE

EME Outlook: How important are suppliers and partners to Valmet Automotive?

Olaf Bongwald: “We have a successful business because of the flexibility of our partnerships.

This flexibility is necessary in the industry because volumes can vary from high to low very quickly, and being able to answer this demand is critical – this is where our suppliers come in.

“We are dependent on our partners to have this flexibility as to offer our customers what they need. All the suppliers that are producing cars are absolutely key to the overall manufacturing process, as if even one piece is missing or wrong you cannot have the car finalised and must rework, or even halt production if the component with the error is major.

“In order for an operation to be successful the handling of the supply chain is both very complex and very important. Our logistic partners are essential to the company.”

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period of time. The recent COVID-19 pandemic has impacted and shaped every industry in its own way, and alongside the increasing focus on sustainability, Bongwald has been able to become a part of the latest innovations in the space.

“For a couple of years now we are undergoing the most exciting period of the automotive industry that has occurred for decades,” he reflects. “We are seeing a big transformation from combustion engines to electrified vehicles and this is a substantial challenge for all the key players in the automotive industry to adapt to.

“But at the same time, it is very stimulating. The company has been presented with many new opportunities in the field and will give us a real chance to show what we can do.”

Valmet Automotive is incredibly customer-orientated in its services.

Flexibility is a core aspect of the company’s operation and helps maintain its reliable and effective reputation in automotive manufacturing. This flexible approach to business allows Valmet Automotive to serve the unique and varied demands of its customers to the highest standards.

“Contract manufacturing is by nature a volatile business,” Bongwald informs us. “We have been able to show for over 50 years now that we as a company are committed to supplying our customers with all kinds of car variants, and volume changes required, and being able to react to these changes with great speed and efficiency.

“This is only possible due to our dedicated work staff throughout the entire company, and our flexible partners and suppliers that are key to our fluid operation. This was great to see when I was allowed to take over as CEO during 2018. It was a very positive experience to find that I was in charge of a wonderful workforce that produce high-quality products.”

GTG Gummitechnik Achieving the best together. This is the focus of both companies and the cornerstone for an outstanding partnership that has lasted over 10 years. The successful relationship between GTG and VALMET is based on an open, honest and critical implementation of projects at a top professional level.

GTG is very happy to have sealed the common path for further years by fixing the latest projects in 2020 and VALMET can continue to fully rely on GTG’s more than 40 years of expertise in the design and manufacture of high quality sealing systems for the automotive sector.

www.gummitechnik.de

This people-centric focus is perfectly exemplified by Valmet Automotive’s in-house Culture Change Programme that was started up in early 2019. In this programme the company outlined its five commitments that defined its culture so that everybody involved, from employees to management and partners, feels appreciated and at home when working in association with Valmet Automotive.

The company commitments are as follows: always learn, show entrepreneurial spirit, deliver, lead at all levels, and lastly respect throughout the organisation.

It is Valmet Automotive’s aim to maintain and continue implementing these commitments into the future to for the benefit of company members, partners and customers, so that they can each work together to achieve success or learn and build upon any failings that may occur.

MANUFACTURING

Leading Manufactuer in Customised Sealing Systems

Automotive seals for doors, flaps, covers, glass run as well as window shafts GTG Gummitechnik Wolfgang Bartelt GmbH & Co. KG 89423 Gundelfingen a.d. Donau / Germany

Special sealing systems developed for the use in household appliances

High-precision elastic connecting elements for facade and window construction

T +49 9073 9507-0 E info@gtg.eu www.gummitechnik.de

EME Outlook issue 41 | 7

VALMET AUTOMOTIVE

VALMET AUTOMOTIVE ON CSR For Valmet Automotive, sustainability is a very important topic and one that the company keeps in focus throughout its operations. The organisation has recently released its second sustainability report, with the first having been released in 2020.

One of Valmet Automotive’s most challenging goals is to be CO2 neutral in its production plant in Uusikaupunki by the end of 2021. The company has already improved upon CO2 emissions reduction between 2019 and 2020 by a substantial 70 percent, and with neutrality being achieved in total by the end of the year, the company aims towards bringing the same to the entire organisation.

Valmet Automotive also helps support its local environment.

The company supports sports teams and events through sponsorship, such as basketball and football teams. And on top of this it is working alongside the University of Munich to support students and new developments in the electrification space.

Valmet Automotive even supports regional events such as music festivals to improve the social environment as much as possible.

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“Our focus is on our customers, partners and employees. We have introduced online training and so far have seen approximately 1,500 employees trained in this way,” Bongwald elaborates. “This is aimed to both improve operations and help make the transition of introducing new employees a smoother process.

“We perform an annual check in which we collect data and employee requests or statements so that we can measure and adapt our in-house way of things while comparing it year from year. But Valmet Automotive also makes sure to be open and easy to reach by any one employee across the organisation.

“We have had in place over the past two years an internal online channel called ‘Questions to Olaf’, where each and every person has the ability to ask me company questions personally, and I will reply.

“In this way we have full communication across the varying levels of the company, and everybody has access to management when they need it.”

These employees and company partnerships are vital to operational business, and their combined efforts have culminated in Valmet Automotive achieving incredible projects and results.

One such project involved the use of an old Nokia plant to answer the demand of a customer in the EV space. Around the end of 2018, Valmet Automotive was approached by a customer who required electric battery systems on a large scale, that required both increased physical plant space as well as peoplepower. In a short space of time Valmet Automotive was able to accommodate the space by locating a former Nokia plant, signed contracts in April of the same year, received the necessary components to build assembly lines, and were able to deliver the first electric batteries in the October that followed.

“It was an incredibly fast operation,” Bongwald tells us proudly. “We went from ground zero to hiring around 200 people who went through training to maintain the assemblies of battery systems.

MANUFACTURING

Valmet Automotive now has the necessary assembly line capability to manufacture and deliver electric batteries.

“We had never done this before, but this process was complete in record speed and was really amazing to see come together. The customer was incredibly happy with the result that had stuck exactly to the preplanned timeline, and we did not lose a single day or battery throughout the process.”

After answering such a unique demand, Valmet Automotive had revaluated its investment strategy to best suit the ever-changing and innovative automotive manufacturing industry; it’s primary investments currently concern the EV space.

In the present, the company is investing in an extension to the aforementioned EV battery plant.

After one and a half years in operation this plant was at full capability with regards to producing battery systems and employee numbers. The project includes a 4,000 square-metre building extension as space has become the primary requirement for the company in the EV business line.

This investment project alone shows Valmet Automotive’s commitment to the progressive and up-and-coming EV sphere.

“We are now getting more and more into the manufacturing of high voltage battery systems,” Bongwald elaborates. “And we need more space to expand our production of battery modules and battery packs. This plant will give us the opportunity to do so.

“The ability to produce batteries for EVs or hybrid vehicles has the benefit of sufficiently reducing and promoting the reduction of our CO2 footprint which is an advantage in the German market and better for the environment.”

In addition, Valmet Automotive is currently expanding the Uusikaupunki

car plant with a high-volume battery plant – SOP in second half of 2021 and will be rebuilding a former industrial plant as a battery plant in Kirchardt, Germany. The work will start during the second half of 2021 and will begin production in first half of 2022.

Tel: +358 20 4848111 www.valmet-automotive.com

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VALMET AUTOMOTIVE Valmet Automotive, PL 4, 23501 Uusikaupunki, Finland Tel: +358 20 4848111 www.valmet-automotive.com

PRODUCED BY EME OUTLOOK MAGAZINE