Ruia Group acquires Henniges Automotive Grefrath, GmbH

Kolkata, 14 December 2009: The Kolkata-based Ruia Group headed by Mr Pawan K Ruia has acquired Henniges Automotive Grefrath GmbH with its state-of –the-art manufacturing facility in Grefrath, Germany. Henniges is a leading supplier of automotive sealing systems to global majors like Daimler, BMW, Audi and Volkswagen. With about 400 highly-skilled employees on its roll, Henniges grossed a turnover of € 84.9 million in 2008.
The global business of sealing systems is looking up once again after a substantive meltdown in 2008. And this is the second international acquisition in the business of manufacturing automotive sealing systems by the Ruia Group in recent years. The first one was Schlegel Automotive Europe Ltd, with its plant at Leicestershire, UK.

The Ruia Group has experienced a phenomenal growth through acquisitionin the first decade of the 21st century and is known for successfully turning around heritage companies like Dunlop India Ltd and Jessop & Co Ltd. The group is perceived as the leader in 2/3-wheeler tyre segment with Falcon Tyres and Monotona Tyres controlling a significant share of the market.

Briefing the media on the details of the acquisition, Mr Pawan K Ruia, Chairman, Ruia Group, said: “We aspire to be a global major in the business of manufacturing automotive sealing systems and an important player in the auto-ancillary business. We continuously look forward to worthwhile acquisition opportunities. With the latest acquisition, the Ruia Group has Toyota, Daimler, BMW, Audi, Nissan, Honda and other auto-majors as its client and that makes me very happy indeed. I am sure the rubber–processing business of the group will find the state-of-the-art-technology of Henniges quite useful and Ruia Group’s unique management skill in turning around the fortunes of the acquired companies will be much helpful for Henniges.”

The media interactive was also attended by Mr Juregen Hein, Director and Mr Wolf Von Der Fecht, Administrator of Henniges Automotive Grefrath Ltd. Respectively they control 15% and 25% equity of the Company, while the rest 60% is now owned by a Special Purpose Vehicle controlled by the Ruia Group. Subsequent to the change of management, the acquired company has been renamed DRAFTEX

For any clarifications, please call Mr Dhrubajyoti Nandi, VP : Corp Comn, at 98310 56023.

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