Valmet Automotive

Valmet Automotive (formerly known as Saab-Valmet) is a contract manufacturer and service provider for the automotive industry. The company offers services in automotive engineering, vehicle manufacturing, mobility solutions as well as in kinematic and convertible roof systems.[2]

Valmet Automotive Inc.
TypeIncorporation
IndustryAutomotive industry
Contract manufacturing
Engineering service provider
Founded1968 (1968) in Uusikaupunki, Nystad, Finland
Headquarters
Uusikaupunki, Nystad
,
Finland
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Olaf Bongwald (CEO)
ProductsAutomobiles, battery packs, automotive roof and kinematic systems
ServicesAutomotive engineering
Revenue€652 million (2019)
€18.1 million (2019)
OwnersPontos Group (38,46%),
Government of Finland (38,46%),
Contemporary Amperex Technology (23,08%)
Number of employees
5,000[1] (2018)
Websitewww.valmet-automotive.com

Valmet Automotive’s focus areas are premium cars, convertibles, electric vehicles. The company has over 5,000 employees in Finland, Germany, Poland, and Spain. The headquarters are located in Uusikaupunki, Finland. The majority of the company is owned by Pontos Group and Finnish government-owned holding company Tesi. A minority shareholder is the EV battery manufacturer Contemporary Amperex Technology (CATL).

Expertise

In vehicle manufacturing, Valmet Automotive’s customer references include Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, Ford, Saab, Opel and Fisker.[3][4] Valmet Automotive has electric vehicles in series production since 2009.

In 2012 Marussia Motors and Valmet Automotive announced an engineering and manufacturing agreement on B2 sports cars.[5][6]

In July 2012, Daimler AG and Valmet Automotive announced a manufacturing agreement Mercedes-Benz A-Class for the Uusikaupunki, Finland, plant. Production began in August 2013. A contract for the production of the Mercedes-Benz GLC-Class was announced in November 2015. Manufacturing preparations involved plant restructuring worth tens of millions of euros and the hiring of around 2000 more personnel. The GLC production started in February 2017.[7] In March 2017, Valmet Automotive announced the manufacturing contract with Daimler AG for the next generation Mercedes-Benz compact cars.[8]

In engineering, Valmet Automotive's focus areas are EV (electric vehicle) solutions such as battery packs, and manufacturing engineering. The company offers components and complete vehicle projects.

In EV Systems, Valmet Automotive has two battery pack manufacturing sites, for large-scale automotive batteries in Salo, Finland, and for off-highway vehicles and industrial applications in Uusikaupunki, Finland.

The roof systems business line’s customer references include Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Mini, Renault and Bentley. The engineering office is located in Osnabrück, Germany, and the manufacturing plant in Zary, Poland.

In October 2018 the German manufacturer BASF announced that they would build a component factory for car batteries only 80 km from the Valmet Automotive car factory.

History
Valmet Automotive Factory

Saab-Valmet was established in 1968 as a joint venture of Finnish Valmet and Swedish Saab-Scania. The automotive plant was placed in Uusikaupunki, Finland and assembled only Saabs for the first eleven years. Between 1979 and 1985 Valmet also assembled Talbots; a total of 31,978 such cars were built in Finland.[9] Valmet were only really interested in building the compact Simca-Talbot Horizon, but the French company required Valmet to also assemble the larger (and slow selling) 1307 before they would license the Horizon.[10] Unlike Saabs, the Simca-Talbots were only meant for local consumption, although a clause in the contract allowed for the possibility of exports if parts made by the thirty local suppliers began to be exported to Talbot's main plants. Domestic parts content increased to thirty percent within a half year of manufacture commencing.[10]

In 1992 Valmet became the sole owner, and the company was renamed Valmet Automotive in 1995. From 1999 to 2010, the sole owner was Metso, after which Finnish Industry Investment and Pontos Investments bought 34% of the company's shares.[11] On November 4, 2010, Valmet Automotive bought Karmann’s roof-component sections in Osnabrück, Germany, and Zary, Poland.[12] The acquisition made Valmet Automotive one of the three biggest roof system manufacturers in the world. In January 2017, CATL became a 23,08% minority stakeholder in the company,[13] the other shareholders being Pontos and Tesi (Finnish Industry Investment). Soon thereafter, in March 2017, Valmet Automotive concluded the acquisition of Semcon's automotive engineering services in Germany and Spain, increasing its number of engineers to over 1000.

Production

Present production

Past production
  • Car models produced in Uusikaupunki, Finland
  • Saab 95
  • Saab 96
  • Saab 99
  • Saab 90
  • Saab 900 CD (Long Wheelbase Model)
  • Saab 900 Convertible
  • Saab 9-3
  • Saab 9-3 Convertible
  • Saab 9000
  • Lada 21093 EuroSamara Baltic
  • Talbot Horizon GL
  • Talbot Solara
  • Talbot 1510
  • Opel Calibra
  • Porsche Boxster
  • Porsche Cayman S
  • Th!nk City
  • Fisker Karma
  • Mercedes-Benz A-class
  • Mercedes-Benz GLC-class

References
  1. "Valmet Automotive starts recruiting campaign of 500 carbuilders". Valmet Automotive. 2018-04-17. Retrieved 2018-05-28.
  2. "Valmet Automotive at a glance". Valmet Automotive.
  3. "Report: Fisker Karma full production delayed to February 2011". green.autoblog.com. Retrieved 2010-07-03.
  4. "Valmet Automotive announces a Letter of Intent for an Assembly Contract with Fisker Automotive". Valmet Automotive.
  5. chdut says (2012-03-10). "Marussia B2 to be Produced by Valmet in Finland". Gtspirit.com. Retrieved 2012-05-30.
  6. Turtiainen, J.: Valmet Automotive ryhtyy tekemään Marussia B2-urheiluautoja, Kauppalehti, 05.03.2012.
  7. "Valmet Automotive receives manufacturing contract for Mercedes-Benz GLC". Valmet Automotive. 2015-11-26. Retrieved 2016-09-24.
  8. "Valmet Automotive will manufacture also the next-generation Mercedes-Benz compact cars" (Press release). 2017-03-22. Retrieved 2017-12-18.
  9. "Valmet Automotive Uusikaupunki, Finland: From 1968 on". Motor Car History. Archived from the original on 2019-12-06.
  10. Kurki-Suonio, Hannu (1979-10-18). "Se on nyt Talbot" [It's Talbot now]. Tekniikan Maailma (in Finnish). Vol. 35 no. 17/79. Helsinki: TM-Julkaisu. p. 111. ISSN 0355-4287.
  11. "Company history". Valmet Automotive.
  12. "Pontos and Finnish Industry Investment to develop Valmet Automotive with Metso; First step is the acquisition of Karmann´s convertible roof business". wallstreet-online.de. 2010. Retrieved 2010-11-06.
  13. Forsell, Tuomas (2017-01-30). "Chinese battery maker CATL buys stake in Finnish car supplier". Reuters. Retrieved 2017-06-17.
  14. "Mercedes-Benz Classe-A sarà prodotta anche dalla Valmet". Archived from the original on 2013-11-02. Retrieved 2012-07-25.
  15. "Porsche's Finnish success story: 227,890 Boxsters and Caymans". valmet-automotive.com. 2011. Retrieved 2011-05-02.
  16. "THINK City production starts at Valmet Automotive". valmet-automotive.com/automotive. Retrieved 2009-12-11.

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