Automobile component supplier boosts its NAFTA team

With eleven million produced cars, North America is at the top of the hit list of vehicle producers all over the world. In the native land of the “Big Two” – General Motors and Ford – in the past year alone, 16.9 million cars were sold. The US automobile market is the largest in the world and – despite current difficulties – offers immense growth opportunities. This is why SEISSENSCHMIDT is rearranging the team of its US subsidiary SEISSENSCHMIDT Corporation. Urs Schaffluetzel and Eugene Bracken now drive the expansion of the company’s business in the North American sector.

“I see very good chances for SEISSENSCHMIDT in the North American market, including into the future. The demand for suppliers of high quality components is very high here,” says 49-year-old Urs Schlaffluetzel, President of the SEISSENSCHMIDT Corporation. Eugene Bracken will join him in January 2007. Both additions to the team are very familiar with the North American automotive industry: they have many years of experience in the industry and were last active as so-called sales agents. A native of Switzerland, Schlaffluetzel has lived in the USA for 26 years. His assessment: “With the highly modern machine technology and many years of know-how in Plettenberg, we’re very competitive in the area of high-quality components at any time, even in the USA.”

The effectiveness of the new SEISSENSCHMIDT team has already proven itself: both have worked successfully for a European company for 15 years. Eugene Bracken has been active in the metal industry for over 40 years. As former production manager, quality manager and marketing director in different companies, he has extensive experience in the field of metal processing at his disposal. “I will use my experience to fully champion the expansion of SEISSENSCHMIDT business operations in the USA,” the American promises.

SEISSENSCHMIDT has been active in North America since 1989; in 2001, the subsidiary SEISSENSCHMIDT Corporation was founded. In recent years, the NAFTA region has become increasingly significant for the company. In the seven years between 1997 and 2004 alone, SEISSENSCHMIDT multiplied its turnover in America nine-fold.

An additional growth motor for SEISSENSCHMIDT could lie in the fact that more and more European clients, to which the company has relationships going back many years, are becoming active in North America. Urs Schaffluetzel: “Anyone who knows us as a top supplier in Europe will also be interested in collaborating with us in the USA. With SEISSENSCHMIDT you know that you are working with one of the best manufacturers of metal forgings. Schlaffluetzel will support SEISSENSCHMIDT clients in North America as a direct local contact.

“If we completely convince the American subsidiaries of our European customers, then that’s the best kind of marketing. In America business still very much revolves around personal relations. And in the 26 years that I have lived and worked in the USA, I have made many contacts.” Urs Schlaffluetzel summarizes the goal of his mission in a single sentence: “If a purchaser or engineer in North America needs forged parts, there can be only one name: SEISSENSCHMIDT.“

The SEISSENSCHMIDT Group is a recognized partner of the international automotive industry. Precision components by SEISSENSCHMIDT are used in engine and vehicle technology by almost all automobile manufacturers as well as leading systems suppliers. With its subsidiary SEISSENSCHMIDT Components Processing GmbH + Co. KG, which specializes in the mechanical treatment of biscuits, SEISSENSCHMIDT meets the rising demand for ready-to-install components and a greater depth of manufacturing. Internationally, the SEISSENSCHMIDT group has a presence in the USA with the SEISSENSCHMIDT Corporation, and in Hungary and numerous representative offices abroad with the SEISSENSCHMIDT Precision Components Kft. In the past year, SEISSENSCHMIDT, with around 400 employees, has generated a turnover of 137,6 million Euro.

For any further inquiries, please contact:

SEISSENSCHMIDT AG
Stefan Levermann
Manager – Marketing/Communication
Tel.: +49 2391 915 282
s.levermann@seissenschmidt.de