Plastic Omnium - 2018 Registration Document

1 PRESENTATION OF PLASTIC OMNIUM AND ITS BUSINESSES History and development of the Group www.plasticomnium.com PLASTIC OMNIUM 2018 REGISTRATION DOCUMENT 24 HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE GROUP 1.2 The Company’s origins stretch back to 1946 , when Plastic Omnium created on 15 April, set up business at the rue du Louvre in Paris. The Company then had three employees and Pierre Burelle was the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. Its first products were pipe fittings, dehydrator spark plugs, and other plastic automotive parts (Jaeger). At this time, injection molding machines were characterized by the weight of the part produced. In 1949, the Company had five molds, with the largest able to produce a 250-gram part. 1952 The Company moved to rue du Parc in Levallois-Perret, (in the Hauts-de-Seine department). 1954 The Company borrowed to buy a mold capable of making 1,200-gram parts, a serious challenge for a company of this size. 1963 New premises in Langres (Haute-Marne) were built to keep pace with the significant growth in business. 1965 Plastic Omnium took control of UMDP (Union Mutuelle Des Propriétaires Lyonnais), a company listed on the Lyon stock exchange. The two companies merged and Pierre Burelle became Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the new entity. Plasticomnium’s stock market listing dates back to this merger. UMDP was a septic tank cleaning and sanitation company. Pierre-Émile Burelle, a civil engineer and graduate of the École des Mines in Paris, took over its management in 1877 at the age of 29. Under the leadership of Pierre-Émile Burelle, the company installed an extensive pipeline network to carry sludge from the La Mouche plant in Lyon to local farmland and market gardens. This 55 km network led to the creation of spread cropping. After 1914, with the development of sewer systems, Pierre-Émile Burelle refocused the business on waste bucket rentals. He died in 1926. Two of his sons were involved in the management of UMDP: Jean Burelle, who died in the war in 1915, and Charles, who headed the Company until 1965. In that year, Pierre Burelle, the son of Jean Burelle and the grandson of Pierre-Émile Burelle, acquired a majority stake in UMDP on the Lyon stock exchange. UMDP’s waste bucket business was the starting point for the development of a range of products and services by Pierre Burelle, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Plasticomnium, including waste container rental, maintenance and cleaning. This business became the backbone of the Environment Division. 1966 The current corporate identity was adopted, with a new logo designed by Raymond Loewy and with Plastic Omnium written as two words. 1968 Plastic Omnium acquired Gachot’s fluorinated resin division and set up a plant in Langres dedicated to these products, which became the 3P Division. The 1970s The 1970s saw the start of the Company’s international expansion with the creation of one subsidiary an year, including Spain in 1970, Germany in 1972, the United Kingdom in 1973, and the United States in 1977. 1974 A Group holding company was set up, Compagnie Plastic Omnium. In 1974, the Group acquired a 2,500 metric ton injection-molding machine, followed in 1982 by a 10, 000 metric ton machine, both records in terms of power for the time. 1980 Beginning of the bumper business for Renault. 1986 Acquisition of a controlling interest in the Landry group and Techniplaste Industrie, which resulted in the Fuel Systems business and diversified the Group’s client portfolio with Peugeot and Citroën.. 1987 Jean Burelle became Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Compagnie Plastic Omnium. Pierre Burelle became Honorary Chairman and remained a director. In the 1990s, the Group continued to extend its geographic reach internationally with the creation of new subsidiaries and with acquisitions: Zarn, in the United States, which operated 4 container plants, was ● acquired in 1991 and then sold in 2001; Vasam, a fuel tank manufacturer based in Madrid and Vigo, was ● acquired in 1994; Reydel, a dashboard and door panel specialist with operations in ● France, Spain, Italy and the United Kingdom, was acquired in 1996 and formed the basis of the Plastic Omnium Auto Interior Division that was sold on to Visteon in 1999. In the 2000s, the Company continued to grow with a targeted acquisition and partnership strategy, and established a presence in Asia. It also stepped up its spending on R&D.