The Plan (2023-2026) seeks to consolidate the company as the key supplier to vehicle manufacturers in developing technology solutions for automobile interiors. This marks the beginning of a new stage in Antolin’s long history with the goal of leading the transformation of mobility. The company has kicked off this stage with the launch of its new brand and corporate identity.

The program has three core objectives: Increasing the company’s profitability by achieving a double-digit EBITDA margin, evolving the business portfolio with a greater footprint in markets with high growth potential, and attracting the best talent to Antolin.

To achieve these objectives, the company has identified four key levers:

• Strengthening relationships with vehicle manufacturers through innovation and a customer-centric culture.
• Developing operational and industrial excellence.
• Fast-tracking technological development, innovation, and digitalization.
• Team talent and engagement coupled with management leadership.

“We are embarking on a new and thrilling stage in which we seek to support our customers in the transformation process they are undertaking and which will turn vehicles into a more advanced, sustainable, and technological environment designed by and for people,” says Ramon Sotomayor, Antolin’s Chief Executive Officer. “To do this, we have become more ambitious. We are committed to significantly stepping up our strategy in all aspects. We are going to focus more on the customer by becoming their key partner for their future models; we will fast-track our innovative technologies and solutions; and most importantly, we are going to grow profitably and sustainably”.

The Plan anticipates that Antolin’s sales will grow on average between 7% and 8% per year, reaching close to €6 billion in 2026 with EBITDA standing at around €600 million in that year.

This increased business will be underpinned by Antolin’s growth potential in North America, which will increase its share to about 40% of the company’s total sales compared to the current 35%; and Asia, which will expand to account for 20% of business in 2026, four percentage points more than at the present. Due in particular to the momentum of new business and customers in China and India, Antolin will post more than €1.1 billion income in Asia by 2026.

By businesses, Technology Solutions will be Antolin’s main growth driver as it is expected to double its income to represent 15% of the company’s sales compared to the current 9%.

The Transformation Plan envisages between €1 billion and €1.2 billion in investment over the 2023-2026 period.

New organization
The first step in the Transformation Plan has been putting in place a new organizational structure which is simpler, more uniform, and makes it possible to extend operational excellence across the company while putting the customer at the center of decision-making. The key changes are:

-Setting up the Transformation Department which will unlock initiatives to improve performance across Antolin. It will foster continuous improvement projects, develop Advanced Industry plans, identify best practices for implementation throughout the organization, and build a culture of operational excellence.

-The Commercial Department is now Customer Development with global account managers tasked with devising strategies for customers that meet their expectations and requirements.

-The Business Units (BUs) are arranged into two areas to separate the mature businesses from their more technological counterparts and thus better unlock the potential of each one:

• Product Systems: Overheads BU; Doors & Hard Trim BU; IPs & Central Consoles BU; and Components & JITs BU.
• Technology Solutions: Lighting, HMI & Electronics BU. This area also includes the Innovation Department which is to ramp up its role as a business generator for the company.

Operational and industrial excellence
The Transformation Plan includes initiatives to turn Antolin into an example of industrial leadership through operational excellence. The goal is to have the most competitive, efficient, and productive factories in the industry by implementing continuous improvement projects across the organization through identifying internal best practices.

The company is also fast-tracking projects designed to develop and embed digital and advanced manufacturing technology at its industrial centers in order to deliver Antolin’s smart factory. Several projects are underway in up to 20 plants in Smart Energy, Explore, and Discovery Insight (identifying and acquiring real-time information on production processes to improve management), Advanced Robotics, Industrial Innovation (projects in artificial intelligence or digital twins), and Intralogistics.

The Plan also encompasses a number of initiatives to enhance the operational excellence of corporate functions by leveraging digitalization such as in the financial and purchasing divisions. Digitalization will make it possible to work more quickly and flexibly by focusing on tasks that bring genuine added value.

As part of its Operational Excellence initiatives, Antolin is to review and optimize its industrial footprint to enhance performance and efficiency. In the context of a global automobile production still far from pre-pandemic figures, the company needs to match its manufacturing capacity with the industry’s actual situation and customers’ needs.

The company expects these actions to result in savings of around €300 million over the next four years, improving its profitability.

Technologies & Solutions
In terms of the business portfolio, the Transformation Plan seeks to build on the company’s technologies and solutions by blending the more traditional businesses such as overheads, where Antolin is a world leader, and doors, an area in which the company has a strong position, with others that have the greatest potential for growth, including lighting, HMI, electronics, and instrument panels.

“Our strength is that we have the technological capability to deliver the most complete and comprehensive portfolio of products and solutions for vehicle interiors on the market,” explains Ramon Sotomayor. “We have an extensive technology range that we are honing with new capabilities in electronics, lighting, and HMI solutions”.

Antolin’s new solutions include Vehicle Access Systems, which was recently recognized by the Innovation Awards at CES 2023, Smart Decorative Systems, Functional Ambient Lighting, Backlit Trims, and Body and Comfort Electronics.

Antolin boasts a robust growth base due to record project wins in 2022 worth €7 billion.

In the new plan, Innovation plays a greater role as a lever to continue delivering disruptive technologies to customers. In addition to further research on potential technologies, the Innovation Department will manage and market Antolin’s innovative solutions, including market research and gathering first insights into new customer programs.

Business Unit potential
The Transformation Plan includes a meticulous bespoke strategy for each Business Unit anchored in building on Antolin’s positioning as a full-service supplier to customers for vehicle interiors.

The businesses of Product Systems (Overheads, Doors & Hard Trim, IPs & Central Consoles, and Components & JITs) will pursue developing solutions and components that deliver higher margins and added value by harnessing the integration of lighting, HMI, and electronics. They will also enhance their strategic position in China through joint ventures.

Specifically, the Overheads business will target strategic customers by tapping into the potential of transforming the product into a sustainable and smart system. It will additionally draw on its market leadership to generate business opportunities for the rest of the Business Units in key markets such as India and China. Components & JITs will assess potential partnerships with logistics operators.

The Technology Solutions businesses (Lighting, HMI & Electronics) will work across all other activities to fast-track development of advanced integrated solutions. Furthermore, it will roll out a global engineering model by upgrading its resources and seek selective alliances to enhance its capabilities in technologies such as smart touch and displays.

The entire GOA Transformation Plan is part of Antolin’s commitment to continue developing a sustainable and responsible business model that prioritizes and creates value for all its stakeholders.

This commitment is embodied in clear-cut targets the company will work towards over the course of its transformation plan and are designed to position Antolin as a business benchmark due to its environmental, social and good governance actions.