The Novares Group is a French manufacturer of car parts. It was started in 1955 by Charles Manni, and was previously known as Mecaplast.[1] Thierry Manni is chairman of the board,[2] and the chief executive officer is Pierre Boulet. Mecaplast merged with Key Plastics in 2016, and in 2017 the combined firm changed its name to Novares.[3]

Novares Group
IndustryAutomotive
FounderCharles Manni
Key people
Productsplastic car parts
Revenue€1.2 billion (2023)
Number of employees
6000 in 2016
Websitenovaresteam.com

History

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The company was started in 1955 by Charles Manni.[1]

During the financial crisis of 2007–2008 some workers were made redundant, and some plants were closed.[4]

In August 2009 the company was nominated as a strategic supplier for PSA and Renault, and so benefitted from the Modernization Fund for Automobile Equipment Suppliers (FMEA)[5] which increased the company’s capital by €55 million/33% stake. The Chennai[6] plant in India[7] was opened on 3 June 2010. A factory was opened in Zrenjanin, Serbia, in 2012.[8]

In 2016 a majority holding in the company was sold to Equistone Partners Europe, a private investment company. Later that year, Mecaplast acquired and merged with Key Plastics, an American car parts company. About a year later the combined operation was renamed Novares.[9] In 2018 the group arranged for its shares to be floated on the Euronext Paris exchange, but the flotation was cancelled.[9]

In March 2020 the company received a cash injection af €45 million from its stockholders Equistone and BPI Paris. In April of that year it went into receivership.[10][unreliable source?]

Figures

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Revenue in M€/Workforce[11]

Revenue/Workforce Comparison
Year Revenue/Workforce
1995 175/1175
1998 223/2100
2000 286/2800
2002 580/5500
2005 820/7800
2007 759/6200
2009 570/5800
2010 643/5500
2011 692/5500
2012 662/5600
2013 661/6000
2015 734/5600

References

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  1. ^ a b Article in the New Trader Archived 20 July 2001 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ Group Executive Profile on Bloomberg Businessweek[dead link]
  3. ^ "From regional supplier to global player - NOVARES". Novares. Retrieved 15 September 2020.
  4. ^ Redundancies at Mecaplast Archived 24 February 2014 at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ Article on FMEA Investment by Charlotte Eyre from European Plastic News
  6. ^ Mecaplast sets up new facility in Chennai Archived 13 February 2014 at archive.today
  7. ^ European leader in Automobile Equipment starts manufacturing at Mahindra World City
  8. ^ France's Mecaplast starts construction of Plant in Zrenjanin on 26 September 2011
  9. ^ a b Audrey Laforest (24 September 2019). Novares prepares for the long term with innovation strategy. Plastics News. Accessed September 2020.
  10. ^ [press release] (18 May 2020). Novares is resuming its operations in Europe following a major liquidity injection. Automotive World. Accessed September 2020.
  11. ^ Website:Key figures