DGAP-News: UNIWHEELS AG

New UNIWHEELS R&D Center

Bad Dürkheim, 26. September 2017:

As one of the technology leaders in the aluminum wheels industry, UNIWHEELS AG constantly strives to keep expanding its market position. To this end, the company has now created new space for its new R&D Center, which will be based in Lüdenscheid, close to its existing plant in Werdohl.

"UNIWHEELS is one of the technology leaders in the aluminum wheel industry, and we want to further strengthen this position. Our target is to be the preferred development partner of the automotive industry and to offer our customers the level of technology they expect from us. We have therefore created a new space for our R&D Center in Lüdenscheid, close to our Werdohl production plant" - says Don Stebbins, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of UNIWHEELS AG.

"We are an international supplier of innovative wheel solutions to the automobile industry. This includes steady weight reductions, new surface treatments for a range of applications right through to the development of smart wheels in future. In a high-tech environment, experienced R&D specialists will refine our best-in-class product development process, raise its efficiency and steadily improve the safety, quality and design of our products. The team will have the most advanced IT equipment and work stations available", adds Dr. Wolfgang Hiller, CEO of UNIWHEELS AG.

Highlights:

* State-of-the-art IT equipment and workstations for all established CAD and CAM programs
* Extensive experience in all aspects of virtual product and process development
* The latest equipment for first sample tests
* Experienced industry and R&D specialists
* Centralized mold development

The center provides total floor space of 1,800 m² including office space for 35 employees and a newly erected 300 m² hall to run the latest test facilities.

Relocation of R&D from its current premises to the new center commenced in the spring of 2017 already and was completed at the end of the summer of 2017.

 

About UNIWHEELS:

The UNIWHEELS Group is one of the leading manufacturers of aluminum wheels for cars in Europe and is one of the few technology leaders worldwide in the aluminum wheel industry.

UNIWHEELS is the third largest European supplier of OEM wheels for the automotive industry as well as the market-leading manufacturer of alloy wheels for the accessories market (AM) in Europe. Well-known Group brands include ATS, RIAL, ALUTEC and ANZIO. The Group currently has four production plants, three of which are in Poland (Stalowa Wola) and one in Germany (Werdohl).

UNIWHEELS sees itself as one of the leading partners of the automotive industry for the optimum reduction of CO2 emissions by reducing the weight of alloy wheels. As well as weight-optimized construction methods, the following procedures are primarily used: flow forming, lightforming, undercutting and forging.

In 2016 the UNIWHEELS Group generated EUR 464.1 million in revenue from a sales volume of 8.8 million wheels and reported an EBITDA of EUR 70.2 million. As an annual average, 2,918 employees worked for the Group in 2016.

UNIWHEELS AG has been publicly listed on Main Market of Warsaw Stock Exchange since May 2015 under the security identification number A13STW, ISIN DE000A13STW4 and ticker symbol UNW.

Since May 2017 the US manufacturer of aluminum wheels, Superior Industries International, Inc. has been the majority shareholder of UNIWHEELS.
 

For more information please contact:

Oliver Madsen
Head of Investor Relations
Email: o.madsen@de.uniwheels.com
UNIWHEELS AG
Gustav-Kirchhoff-Str. 10
67098 Bad Dürkheim
Germany