Treasury transmission
An internship with BMW led ElringKlinger’s treasurer, Matthias John, to the automotive component manufacturer, where he centralised its treasury systems and improved free cash flows. He tells flow’s Graham Buck about the importance of giving back
W
hile the revenue contraction resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic has been felt most
by the retail and travel sectors, the auto industry has not escaped unscathed. In 2020, new motor registrations fell by about 25% across Europe’s five largest car-buying countries, with a 19% decline in Germany surpassed by steeper drops in the UK, France, Italy and Spain.1
A three-point turn in its fortunes in 2021 would be good news for German automotive parts manufacturer ElringKlinger AG, a supplier to many of the industry’s big names. The company’s Q3 2020 interim report notes the pandemic impact. “Lockdowns and interruption
to production at customer sites led to a substantial downturn in business in the second quarter,” it states. However, Q3 saw “significant business upturn on the back of recovering markets”.2
patented ideas applied for in 2019 alone
81
(ElringKlinger Sustainability Report 2019)
46
combat climate change in the long term is under way. Investment in battery and fuel cell technologies (as well as project time allocation) has been ramped up as ElringKlinger adapts existing operations and infrastructure to meet changing demand.3
e-mobility transition The “broad range of innovative premium-quality products for vehicles powered by any type of drive system” (in the company’s own words) includes lightweight components, battery and fuel cell technology, electric drive units, gaskets, shielding systems, transmission control plates, dynamic precision parts, components made of high-performance plastics, tooling technology, and development services. While combustion engines currently dominate, the gradual transition to hybrid and full electric models to reduce CO2
emissions and
The Q3 2020 report also highlights how the company’s fuel cell technology was “propelled forward by two strategic partnerships”; namely Airbus, “to redefine hydrogen-based fuel cell for the aviation sector”, and one with French automotive supplier Plastic Omnium “in a concerted effort to evolve the market for fuel cell vehicles”.4
Engine power ElringKlinger’s genesis goes back to the 19th century and Paul Lechler, a businessman, social reformer and philanthropist who founded the company in 1879, declaring his belief that “faith must not simply be a matter of ideology; it must be lived out through our actions”. Initially trading in gaskets and technical products, it subsequently began manufacturing gaskets in 1914.5
Six years after the Lechler business was established in Stuttgart, Richard Klinger set up an engineering workshop in Vienna. The first Lechler cylinder-head gaskets were produced in 1924 and the Klinger plant followed suit in 1930.
Fast forward to the mid-1960s and production and distribution of Lechler
Images: ElringKlinger
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