NEWS
Metair gains foothold in China with 25% stake in German battery maker The South African battery storage and automotive components group of companies Metair Investments acquired 25.1% of the German battery manufacturer Akkumulatorenfabrik Moll (Gertrud Moll) for almost $8.5 million, the firm announced on July 4. The company said the investment was in line with Metair’s globalization strategy, which should now see the company gain a foothold in China since Moll already has a partnership with China’s biggest e-bike leadacid battery manufacturer, Chaowei Power Holdings. Metair says that Chaowei, which reportedly has an annual production capacity of 140 million batteries,
bought a stake in Moll in 2013 and has since partnered the German company to develop EFB start-stop batteries for supply in China. “Gertrud Moll, Chaowei and Metair are all shareholders in Moll,” Metair CEO Theo Loock, pictured, told Batteries International. “Moll has a 5% shareholding in Chaowei’s Chinese automotive Greenfield’s investments. Through Moll, Metair will now have a small indirect shareholding in China.” The facilities in China, Metair said, are predicted to have a capacity of 4 million batteries for the aftermarket by the end of 2018. Moll, which has the ca-
pacity to produce 1.4 million batteries a year, making EFB, AGM, gel and traction batteries as well as batteries for motorbikes and solar applications, will now secure additional production capacity in Europe and Turkey, Moll managing partner Gertrud Moll-Möhrstedt said. “Over the next few years, the company will continue to invest six figure sums into its site at Bad Staffelstein, which shall be expanded as both a research and development centre and production site,” she said. “This acquisition is an important next step in delivery of our strategic objectives for the energy storage vertical and builds an incubator
Sovema announces name change as firm expands lithium range Lead-acid battery equipment manufacturer Sovema changed its name to Sovema Group on June 14 in line with the company’s expansions into making machinery for the lithiumion battery industry. Massimiliano Ianniello, Sovema general manager who has been with Italybased Sovema for 20 years, becomes general manager for the whole group. Sovema CEO Enzo Mazzola said the decision followed the growth of the company’s Solith and Sovel business lines, which add to the Sovema line of equipment for lead-acid batteries. Solith makes equipment for lithium cell manufacturing and Sovel produces battery-charging systems. “Solith has made major leaps forward in the last two years by developing
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some outstanding pieces of equipment that attracted the attention of two of the biggest players in the lithium battery business in Korea, which are now part of our customer portfolio,” he said. “These developments and this growth convinced me and the board that it was time to give more explicit
evidence to these two businesses and to bring them at the same level as our core business related to the equipment for the production of lead-acid batteries. “Solith and Sovel will certainly take advantage from this stronger organization in their growth trajectory, preserving and improving their specific
Lead acid battery maker Monbat buys two lithium ion firms Bulgarian lead-acid battery manufacturer Monbat has bought two lithium battery firms — Gaia Akkumulatorenwerke and EAS Germany — in Germany, the firm confirmed on June 26 to SeeNews, a regional newsgathering business for south-east Europe. Gaia is based in Nordhausen, and makes a
range of various lithium battery types. Its applications range from hybrid and electric vehicles to control systems for wind turbines. The other German firm is EAS Germany, which makes lithium-ion cells for space, submarine, marine and automotive applications. The two have merged
for partnership with Moll and Chaowei,” said Loock. “It also provides Metair with a small but critical access point into the Chinese market, laying the platform for future technology transfer and co-operation.” Metair’s companies are all involved in the manufacture, distribution and retail of energy storage products and automotive components that it supplies to 46 destinations around the world. Founded in 1945, Moll supplies European car manufacturers, including Audi, Daimler, Porsche, Skoda, Lamborghini and Volkswagen. The company has a distribution network across Europe and Asia. competences. This will also allow our company to improve the technological innovation of all three product lines and to guarantee a better level of service and support to our customers worldwide.” The name change will not affect the company’s structure overseas, which includes Bitrode Corporation and sales firms Sovema Global Services in the US and Sovema Tianjin in China. into Nordhausen-based company EAS Batteries. Monbat, which is based in Sofia, did not reveal how much it paid for the firms, but did say it would merge them into one operation in Nordhausen called EAS Batteries. Monbat said it had plans to invest more than $5.6 million over the next two years for new and modern machinery, as well as a larger workforce.
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