AD Plastik Group today became 100% owner of Hungarian company Tisza Automotive Kft., thus achieving key goals of business strategy and medium-term development plan. This acquisition will also ensure further growth of AD Plastik Group and expansion of customer portfolio.

Tisza Automotive is a plastic components manufacturer with more than 15 years of experience in the automotive industry. It is a leading supplier of Suzuki factory in Hungary and, apart from Suzuki, the most important customers are Bentley and Volkswagen, for which the company is a first level supplier. Key technologies of Hungarian factory are injection moulding and blow moulding, which are compatible with existing technologies of AD Plastik Group. Company has more than 400 employees and the land of production halls, warehouses and offices amounts to 22,400 square meters. Tisza Automotive, as a second level supplier, produces for other car manufacturers, therefore Rehau, APCB, Reydel, Hanon Systems, Vernicolor, Mitsuba, Heycoustics and others are on their customer list.

„Potential acquisitions have been discussed and announced for a long time and this is part of our business strategy. Central and Eastern Europe are one of the fastest growing markets in the automotive industry so Tisza Automotive was a logical choice. Their geographical position is very good compared to car manufacturers in that part of Europe, they have experience in the automotive industry and a good customer portfolio and they use and develop the same technologies as we do. After a due diligence of the company, we recognized their further development and growth potential and the positive effects of taking over. With this acquisition, we expand our customer portfolio and create good prerequisites for achieving planned growth of the Group,” said President of the Management Board Marinko Došen.

AD Plastik Group has sealed new deals for production of automotive parts with several manufacturers in the European and Russian market worth more than EUR 35 million.

A deal has been sealed on production of absorber for vehicle Buick for American market which is produced by the French PSA Group. The start of production is planned in 2021, with a projected duration of six years. A deal was also sealed with PSA Group on production of glass run channels for vehicle models Citroen Peugeot 301, Picasso and Citroen C-Elysee. The start of production is expected in 2020 and the duration of the project is twelve years.

A deal was sealed with the long-standing customer Hella on production of light housings whose start of production is planned in 2018, with expected duration of three years.

AD Plastik Kaluga has sealed new deals regarding injection moulding and thermoforming technologies. A deal was sealed for the production of deflectors, sensors and camera brackets for the Capture vehicle models , and the start of the project is planned in 2020 with a projected duration of three years. A deal for production of wheel arch liners for Renault Duster has also been sealed, whose start of production is planned in 2021, and the estimated project duration is three years.

Several deals have been sealed with Volkswagen Group in the Russian market, whose start of production is expected in 2019. The deal has been sealed on production of airbaffles and rear door trims for Volkswagen vehicle models Polo and Rapid with an estimated project duration of seven years. The deal has been sealed for the production of fender protectors for Tiguan model and the project should last for six years. Wheel arch liners will be produced for vehicle models Škoda Rapid and Volkswagen Polo models and the project should last for seven years.

As part of the Croatian Exporters Convention, which was held this year under the title Export as a Generator of Growth and Development of the Republic of Croatia, the Golden Key Award was traditionally awarded. AD Plastik received the Golden Key Award once again as the best exporter to the Slovenian market.

„For several years in a row now, AD Plastik has been winning the Golden Key award, which is another in the series of confirmation of our success. Slovenia is an extremely important market for us considering that Renault’s plant Revoz, one of our biggest customers, is located there,. With regard to the new deals sealed with Revoz, further growth is expected in this market,” said Sanja Biočić, Member of the Management Board, while receiving the award. 

Among other things, the convention emphasized that of all Croatian companies, 15 percent are exporters employing 51 percent of all workers and accounting for 75 percent of total profits. The Declaration of Croatian Exporters 2018 states that exporters advocate for the application of new technologies, noting that it depends not only on entrepreneurs but also on combining economic policy measures in the field of industrial development, innovation, infrastructure and education.

President of the Croatian Exporters Association Darinko Bago on that occasion said that exporters are the best part of the economy, and as such they may be the only basis for quality changes. 

About ten of the leading Japanese companies during their three-day business visit to Croatia visted also the AD Plastik Plant in Zagreb. This first major visit by Japanese businessmen was organized by the Ministry of Economy, Entrepreneurship and Crafts, the Japan Embassy in Croatia and the JETRO Regional Office (Japan’s Foreign Trade Organization) in cooperation with the Investment and Competitiveness Agency, the Croatian Chamber of Economy and the Association of Foreign Investors in Croatia.

Among the Japanese businessmen there were the representatives of Mitsubishi, Japan Tobacco International, Daikin, Hino Motors, Sumitomo Electric Hartmetall, Kajimo, Mizuho Bank and Itochu. AD Plastik Group already has established business communication with the company Itochu that will surely be eased considering the enthusiasm of the company’s representatives with Zagreb plant.

„Representatives of leading Japanese companies were delighted with the technologies we use in our plant in Jankomir Zagreb, and the quality of our products. After the company’s presentation and plant tour, their impressions were best seen in the questions that they had for us. They were interested in what the switching to electric vehicles means for us, which are the benefits of the arrival of Japanese investors in Croatia, aswell as the history and development of the AD Plastik Group in a country that has no automotive industry. This was an extremely interesting and successful visit, and we are particularly pleased with the enthusiasm of Mr. Hashimoto from the company Itochu,” said Toni Štambuk, Sales Director of AD Plastik for the EU market.

Slovenian assembly plant Revoz located in Novo Mesto celebrated the production of the four millionth Renault car it has assembled in its plant. It’s about silver Renault Clio with diesel engine that was manufactured for the French market.

Today Revoz is one hundred percent owned by French Renault, and the plant in Novo Mesto has been writing new chapters of development and progress in automotive industry alongside with Renault for 46 years now. It took twenty years for the plant in Novo Mesto to produce the first million of vehicles, the last million of vehicles was produced in the last seven years, and they plan to reach a number of five million vehicles in the next three and a half to four years. “In Revoz, we have produced this four millionth car in the period when the plant returns to the old routes of Renault Group’s most efficient subsidiaries. With the new development cycle, we are planning to introduce state-of-the-art technologies in the areas of digitalization, automation and electrical and autonomous mobility,” said Kaan Ozkan, President of the Management Board of Revoz on this occasion.

Revoz brings together various suppliers among which AD Plastik is very important. Particularly significant was the collaboration on the Edison project, thanks to which Revoz was highlighted as a key part of the Alliance Renault-Nissan and German Daimler partnerships in 2014. Twingo III and Smart ForFour are produced exclusively in Novo Mesto and they were joined by the electric Smart ForFour, with which Revoz has entered into a new era of electrical mobility development. Since mid-2017, a part of program of fourth-generation Clio model has been produced in Revoz plant.

According to Marinko Došen, President of the Management Board of AD Plastik, last year Revoz’s share in the total revenue of AD Plastik was 20 percent. “We still want to build our cooperation primarily on trust and quality, and in such a manner develop and improve our partnership. The cooperation between Revoz and AD Plastik has undergone various phases. We used to deliver door panels and parts of instrument panel for Renault 4 and Renault 5 models, and today Twingo, which is produced in this plant, has 212 parts manufactured by AD Plastik. A major breakthrough in our collaboration was the Edison project, namely the production of Twingo and Smart, which was one of the reasons for the construction of a brand new and robotized painting line in Zagreb. AD Plastik also participates in the development of the products and tools together with Renault, and we are facing the production of components within the new Clio BJA project. I’m sure this is just one of our many future successful projects. In 2017, over nine million parts produced in our plants were delivered to Revoz,” Marinko Došen pointed out.

In 2017 Revoz revenue amounted to almost EUR 1.6 billion and profit amounted to nearly EUR 35 million and EUR 40.2 million has been invested. It is the largest exporter in Slovenia and the third largest company in that country. Revoz has produced 189,687 vehicles in 2017, and in record 2009 it produced 212,680 vehicles. That record has not been surpassed to this day, but we would not be surprised if the record was to be exceeded in the foreseeable future.

The conference International Economic Connecting, organized by CCE – Rijeka County Chamber, was held in Opatija. At the conference they talked about important topics such as good practice in internationalization of business and economic cooperation, the role and influence of supporting institutions and trading companies in economic connectivity, opportunities for international economic engagement of EU entrepreneurs and support for internationalization of business.

In the framework of the conference, a panel discussion on the topic “Economy Diplomacy and Business Internationalization” was held, attended by the President of the Management Board of AD Plastik Marinko Došen, Head of Economic Affairs Department of the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of the Republic of Croatia Jasmin Devlić, Head of EU Affairs, Funds and Programs Department from the sector of international affairs of CCE Danijela Pečevski, President of the Management Board of Teximp-Zurich Vlado Vukoja, owner of Nilu Stahlbau from Vienna Niko Ilić and owner of Quick Export from Milan Ana Gnječ.

The purpose of this Conference is to encourage the cooperation between entrepreneurs of Croatian origin living and working abroad with domestic entrepreneurs, to enhance entrepreneurs and institutions connections regardless of frontiers and to provide support to domestic entrepreneurs in internationalization of business.

The conference was attended by distinguished and successful entrepreneurs and representatives of institutions from Croatia, Slovenia, China, Austria, Serbia, Germany, Italy, Hungary, Switzerland and Russia whose experience in business practices was a significant contribution to the conference goal.

Financial results for the first quarter of AD Plastik Group confirm the revenue growth and announced forecasts. The Group’s operating revenue grew by 20.3 percent and for the first three months amounted to HRK 323.33 million. Net profit amounted to HRK 31.84 million, and represented an increase of 35.92 percent compared with the same period last year.

Such a strong growth in revenue is the result of newly sealed deals, but also the growth of existing customers’ orders and the recovery of the Russian market. Strong focus on process improvement and cost efficiency resulted in significant increase in profit. Group’s EBITDA in the observed period amounted to HRK 52.16 million, representing an increase of 23.43 percent compared to the same period of the previous year.

 „The achieved results confirm the successful realization of the planned deals and the announced growth of the business. They show that we have been successfully implementing planned growth strategy and set goals, as well as improvement of business efficiency. In some segments we even surpass them,“ said the President of the Management Board Marinko Došen.

The trend of improving the financial position of Group in the first three months has continued, which is best seen through further reduction in net financial debt, which decreased by HRK 15.36 million compared to the last day of 2017.

 „We base further development of the company on solid foundations which gives us security and additional motivation. Increase in production and sales at all our production sites is a goal that we have been achieving and we will continue to achieve in accordance with our business strategy. We are continuing with new investments, business growth and realization of planned results,“ said Marinko Došen.

The published audited annual financial statements confirm that the year 2017 for AD Plastik Group was one of the best in the last ten years. Group’s operating revenue increased by 16.5 percent compared to the previous year and amounted to HRK 1,090.14 million. Net profit for 2017 amounted to record HRK 70.21 million and increased by 41.2 percent compared to the previous year. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) in the reporting period amounted to HRK 158.43 million, which represented an increase of 16.6 percent compared to the previous year. According to the announcements, EBITDA margin remained at the previous year’s level of 14.5 percent.

 „Successful results are the reason for satisfaction, but also an incentive for further realization of the planned goals. This was a very successful year for AD Plastik Group and a solid foundation for the planned future. Our operating revenue in the reporting period grew by 16.5 percent, which shows that realized investments and projects in the past year were a good strategic choice,“ said President of the Management Board Marinko Došen.

The company’s financial position improvement trend has continued and business growth has been achieved with further decrease in net debt. Credit indebtedness decreased by HRK 54.11 million compared to the same period last year.

 „Last year we sealed a significant number of new deals for several models of Renault Group, PSA Group, Ford, Volkswagen and Nissan vehicles, which will provide us with over EUR 150 million of revenue over the next few years. A very significant and dynamic project period is ahead of us. Our priority in further business is investment in technological development and knowledge with the overall growth of the Group in the European and Russian automotive markets. This will be accomplished by the planned increase in production and sales at all locations,“ added Marinko Došen.

AD Plastik Group published its first Integrated Report for 2017, which includes the report by the management of the company, the sustainable development report and the annual financial statements. It contains all the key financial and non-financial information that reports on our company’s impact on society and the environment. The Group has chosen an integrated reporting method for better and more comprehensive informing its stakeholders. In this way, the financial values of the company have been connected with business values in the area of society and the environment. The goal is to thoroughly and transparently present the business strategy of the company, its financial results, corporate culture and approach to corporate social responsibility to its stakeholders.

With its Sustainability Report, AD Plastik Group found itself among the top five companies at the regional level and received a special acknowledgment for human rights reporting, which was given to the company in Warsaw within CSR Fair.

„This is another one in a series of acknowledgments for achieved results and progress in the area of corporate social responsibility. We have been making great efforts and investing resources in improvement and perfection of our sustainable business and this is a prerequisite for success in the modern business world. Our choice is to constantly evolve in this direction and we are proud that the professional and wide public recognizes this. We are particularly pleased to see our reporting on human rights recognized at the regional level, but our sustainability report is only a sublimated annual review of everything we do everyday and live within our company,” said President of the Management Board of AD Plastik Group on that occasion.

AD Plastik Group has been preparing sustainability reports since 2012, and this is the second time that it has competed for the Green Frog Award at the local and for the first time at a regional level. The Jury singled out sustainable development report of AD Plastik Group due to the special focus on human rights, which are a key element of good practice in the organization. Five countries have participated in the competition: Croatia, Czech Republic, Poland, Romania and Hungary with a total of 69 reports out of which 12 was included in the regional level and five got to the finals of Green Frog Award.

The Green Frog Award was first awarded in Hungary in 2000, organized by Deloitte Hungary. Since then, it has been expanding to other countries in Central Europe, and since 2015 the award has been also granted at a regional level.

AD Plastik Group has sealed new deals worth about EUR 100 million. These are new deals for customers Ford and PSA Group in European and Renault Group and Volkswagen in the Russian market.

Deals were sealed on production of side fender claddings and decorative door trims for the new Ford mini SUV that will be produced in Romania. The start of production is scheduled for 2019, with a projected duration of eight years. New components will be produced in Solin and Zagreb, and the expected revenue from the above mentioned deal in the eight-year period amounts to EUR 80 million.

At the same time, a deal was sealed on the production of glass run channels for several PSA Group vehicles, whose start of production is scheduled in 2020 with a projected duration of six years. Expected revenue for the said PSA Group project amounts to EUR 12.8 million in six years.

Several new deals in the Russian market were sealed with a total value of EUR 8.3 million. In that way, a deal was sealed with Renault Russia on the production of exterior components for Logan Sandero, Stepway and Duster phase 2 vehicles, which will be produced at AD Plastik’s plants in Kaluga and Vintai, and they are partly intended for the Brazilian market. The start of production is scheduled for 2019 and the projected project duration is four years.

A deal was sealed for production of grille for Renault in Kaluga plant whose project is scheduled to start in 2020 with a projected duration of three years. A deal for production of grab handles for the vehicles VW Polo and VW Rapid in AD Plastik Group’s Russian plant in Kaluga was sealed and the start of production was scheduled in 2019 with a projected seven-years project duration.