Under the FORVIA umbrella, the Electronics Business Group consists of one unit at HELLA and one at Faurecia. They are led by Björn Twiehaus and Olivier Durand. In this interview, they talk about the collaboration so far, initial successes and next steps.

Monday 2022-06-27

Olivier Durand, Björn Twiehaus: From the very beginning, you placed a lot of emphasis on close cooperation, not only between the Electronics units of HELLA and Faurecia, but also between the two of you personally. What do you particularly appreciate about your counterpart?

Twiehaus: Oh, now I have to think for a moment... (laughs).

Durand: Do you want me to step in? Björn has extensive knowledge of markets, customers and technologies. Above all, it is also crucial that we have both built up a good personal relationship with each other. We can openly discuss everything, not just electronics topics but also FORVIA as a whole.

Twiehaus: Well, all jokes aside: Olivier is very charismatic, cooperative and professional. This is not least the basis for the enthusiasm with which our two Electronics units have been working together since Day One. No matter who we talk to, we sense everywhere that our colleagues are convinced of the cooperation, of our growth prospects and of the additional opportunities.

In which areas can HELLA Electronics and Clarion Electronics learn from each other?

Twiehaus: Actually, in all areas - from methods to processes to tools. On the HELLA side, we have already been able to learn from FCE: among other things, we have adopted a reporting system for monitoring project start-ups from Clarion Electronics, which is helping us to move forward.

Durand: Clarion is younger than HELLA Electronics. We can therefore benefit from HELLA's wealth of experience, for example in development or production. HELLA, for example, uses a good tracking tool in production for detailed traceability of individual production steps. That's what we're going to adopt now. Many colleagues at Clarion have already told me that we would have needed something like this much earlier.

The first 100 days since Day One have passed. From your point of view, what are the three greatest successes achieved during this time?

Durand: First of all, it was important to lay the right foundations. Not only in terms of organization, but above all regarding the attitude with which we approach the matter. We are still two separate, legally independent entities. This makes it all the more important for employees to be able to work together well and effectively. Second, the joint negotiations with our suppliers. Here we were already able to achieve the first price reductions. That's very encouraging, but I see much more potential. Third: our joint FORVIA booth at the auto show in Japan. This was another important milestone in positioning our joint umbrella brand FORVIA in the market.

Twiehaus: Olivier has already addressed the main topics. We have begun to further develop our organizational structures by harmonizing them even more closely with the Faurecia set-up and, for example, also pushing targeted training and development measures specifically for the Electronics business. And: our joint trade show appearance in Japan. It actually felt as if we were already one company. Even more so, I had the impression that our customers see it the same way and recognize the strengths of the collaboration.

What goals have you set for the next 100 days?

Twiehaus: The response in the market is positive. We must now gradually translate this into orders. To this end, we must now also define a clear roadmap for our product portfolio. Looking ahead to the next 100 days, I am also particularly keen to meet my colleagues from Clarion Electronics in person as soon as possible. Corona restrictions have been a major obstacle in this regard. Hopefully, the situation will improve now.

Durand: In the next 100 days, we will also establish the first joint electronics site of HELLA and Faurecia. The process is already underway. Clarion Electronics colleagues in the USA will move to the HELLA site in Northville, Michigan. Even then, we will remain two independent companies. But it is good when colleagues can work together under one roof and meet customers and business partners together. That makes a lot of things easier and, above all, helps to form a stronger bond.

You mentioned joint project acquisitions. What could be the first FORVIA products in the electronics area?

Durand: There are many possibilities. Together, we already offer a comprehensive portfolio contributing to FORVIA’s three strategic levers for growth: electrification & energy management, automated & safe driving, digital and sustainable cockpit experiences.

Twiehaus: Assisted and automated driving is certainly ahead of the game. This is a topic that Clarion Electronics is also addressing, for example regarding automated parking. Currently, ultrasonic sensors are primarily used there. In the future, radar sensors could be used. Another example is our seat control modules. Particularly regarding European customers, we have not been in such a strong position recently. Now customers explicitly approach us because together with Faurecia we have the relevant know-how. In general, the interior is a subject where we can do a lot together: with displays from Clarion, seat technologies from Faurecia, our Lighting solutions as well as our X-by-wire pedal sensors. We are therefore ideally placed to become a comprehensive systems supplier for the interior.

The Business Group Electronics aims to achieve combined sales of around € 7 billion by 2025, more than double the current figure. How can this ambition be achieved, despite the Corona lockdowns, supply bottlenecks and the war in Ukraine?

Twiehaus: That's a perfect question for Faurecia's new CFO (Editor's note: Olivier Durand will become Faurecia's new Chief Financial Officer on 1 July and will continue to supervise Clarion Electronics for a transitional period).

Durand: This now puts me in a bit of a predicament. Let's see if I agree with the new CFO. No, seriously: The targets are realistic because they are based on specific customer orders. Of course, there are currently major challenges in our market environment. The war in Ukraine is terrible. This is associated with inconceivable human suffering. At the same time, the lockdowns in China and the massive supply bottlenecks in particular are having a noticeable impact on our day-to-day business. In the medium term, however, the customer demand to achieve our goals is definitely there.

Twiehaus: I absolutely agree with Olivier. Despite all the challenges, our growth targets are not in jeopardy. In the last two fiscal years, we have already exceeded our acquisition targets, in some cases significantly. For the coming months, we expect the largest order intake ever in our Electronics business. In fact, that would be far more than we would need for the € 7 billion-target.

Durand: To realize this kind of growth, we also need the necessary resources and talent. Skill shortages could therefore become a limiting factor that we need to prevent. At the same time, we have to deal with rising inflation. For suppliers in particular, a market with rising prices is a difficult environment because we cannot pass on price increases to our customers without restriction.

Twiehaus: In addition, the supply bottlenecks are still not over. We currently expect these to continue until at least the end of 2023. So far, we have coped well with the shortages and are also getting very positive feedback from our customers for this, because many employees go the extra mile and literally fight for every single piece. This sets us apart from most of our market competitors and shows how much potential there is in the company and that together we can develop competitive advantages even in such challenging times. I would like to express my sincere thanks to all my colleagues for this.