Hamburg, Germany--November 15, 2003-- Vibracoustic, a joint venture
between Phoenix AG and the Freudenberg Group, has expanded its activities
in the area of vibration control for automotive applications at its
Hamburg location..
In addition to the wide range of rubber-metal products for vibration-control
applications and innovative axle air springs, the development and production
of polyurethane springs will now also be concen-trated in Hamburg.
Components of special polyurethane material perfectly complement the
vibration-control properties of rubber. Since they are extremely elastic,
they offer ideal characteristics. Unlike rubber, polyurethane can be
compressed, and this makes it especially suitable for components that
are subjected to heavy loads. A typical application involves the use
of this material for additional springs for automobile suspensions to
permit soft, precise limitation of wheel movement in critical situations
to enhance both driving comfort and safety.
Vibracoustic ranks among the few companies in Europe that are able to
market this high-quality material in this area. Production facilities
are now being shipped from Macon in France to Hamburg and are expected
to go into operation at the new location in the first quarter of 2004
to supply clients like DaimlerChrysler and Volkswagen, to mention two
examples.
"With this transfer, we will bring an extremely modern production facility
to Ham-burg and initially create 20 new jobs, and the production area
has potential for expansion", says Konrad Ellegast, Phoenix AG's CEO.
The City of Hamburg is supporting this project with an investment subsidy.
Vibracoustic is a global development partner and OEM supplier of the
automo-bile industry in the area of vibration-control applications for
the automotive envi-ronment. A young company that is a world leader
in its chosen industry, Vibra-coustic builds on the resources and strengths
of the two joint-venture partners in the area of vibration-control technology.
Phoenix provides experience and ex-pertise in the areas of suspensions
systems and struts, and Freudenberg con-tributes competence in the areas
of drivetrain technology and bearings. With its American and Asian partners,
Vibracoustic maintains a presence close to its clients with more than
4,000 employees, 23 production locations and five development centers
worldwide.
For further information, please contact: Phoenix AG, Public Relations:
Sandra Hülsmann Tel.: +49 (0)40/7667-2450 Fax: +49 (0)40/7667-2924 Internet:
http://www.phoenix-ag.com
You may view the new quarterly report and the press release for the
third quarter of the fiscal year 2003 at Phoenix
AG .
