Valeo - Introduction

Introduction

43, rue Bayen
75848 Paris France
Telephone: ( +33) 01 40 55 20 20
Fax: ( +33) 01 40 55 21 71
Web site: http://www.valeo.com

Public Company
Incorporated: 1923 as Société Anonyme Francaise du Ferodo
Employees: 68,200
Sales: EUR 9.23 billion ($11.59 billion) (2003)
Stock Exchanges: Euronext Paris
Ticker Symbol: FR
NAIC: 336322 Other Motor Vehicle Electrical and Electronic Equipment Manufacturing; 336350 Motor Vehicle Transmissions and Power Train Manufacturing; 336399 All Other Motor Vehicle Parts Manufacturing

France's Valeo is the tenth-largest supplier of components and systems to the worldwide automobile and truck industry. Valeo operates approximately 129 manufacturing plants, 65 research and development centers, and nine distribution centers serving the European, North and South American, and Asian markets. The company is one of the largest automotive suppliers in Europe and has several times declared its intention of moving up to becoming one of the top five such companies in the world. Valeo is divided into ten industrial branches, making transmissions, climate control devices, engine cooling devices, lighting systems, electrical systems, wiper systems, motors and actuators, security systems, switches and detection systems, and electronics and connective systems. The company groups these industrial branches into four main areas: electrical and electronic systems, which account for more than 50 percent of total sales; thermal systems, which represent close to 25 percent of sales; aftermarket activity, at 17 percent of sales; and transmissions, which make up just 4 percent of sales.