N E W S L E T T E R F R O M S A PA A U T O M O T I V E
NR 1/2009
Editorial
VICTOR SCHNEIDER
Profitable growth
Since the end of 2008 the global economy has been facing a severe crisis,
which is affecting all automotive markets
and resulting in dramatic volume drops.
We at Sapa are not spared - flexibility and
strong cost management is a mandatory
exercise in these difficult times.
However, we can be lucky that our
mother company has a sound balance
sheet, which will allow us to withstand this
crisis.
A crisis also offers opportunities. At
Sapa Automotive we are convinced that
we will come out strengthened and we are from »profiles to solutions« through CVM
preparing our teams to deliver further (customer value management) is part of
growth to the Sapa automotive business. our daily life at Sapa automotive. There is
Aluminium will play an increasing role in a large variety of product lines, all based
today’s challenges to improve fuel and on superior extrusion capabilities, that
emission for cars and trucks. It will no Sapa automotive offers for car and truck
applications. This inlonger be a speciality for
cludes structural parts,
high end vehicles, aluAluminium will play
impact protection, decminium will be used in all
an increasing role in
orative trims, interior
kind of vehicles from the
today’s challenges to
components to masmallest to the largest,
chined engine compofrom low volume to high
improve fuel and
nents and housings.
volume. New technoloemission for cars and
We are serving a large
gies, like hybrid and
trucks
customer base, both
electric powered cars
OEMs and also multiare offering new
applications for aluminium due to ple tier 1 and system suppliers. Our conits outstanding heat transfer stant target is to leverage cost efficiency
property combined with su- with product and process improvements.
perior machining and shap- Sapa’s extended manufacturing footprint
is another competitive edge which makes
ing capabilities.
Sapa automotive is us confident that we are on the right track
preparing for the next step for profitable growth.
The Sapa Automotive team is motiof profitable growth:
Our sales and engineer- vated, skilled and focussed to fight for
ing organisation is being re- profitable growth by offering innovative,
inforced, with newly hired en- robust and flexible solutions to our cusgineers joining Sapa automo- tomers.
This Extrude edition 2009-1 shows vartive. This reinforcement goes
along with a »closer to the cus- ious aspects of Sapa automotive busitomer« focus while our Swedish ness, I wish you a pleasant read.
central engineering and support
functions offer strong know how and Victor Schneider
networking support for the local sales V I C E P R E S I D E N T
areas. The Sapa strategy S A P A A U T O M O T I V E
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Around 8% of
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Aluminium – a truly precious metal
Aluminium is the common to corrosion and is easy to machine, mill,
denominator for every Sapa drill, cut, punch, bend, weld, bond and
tape.
business. It’s the core of
everything we do. Thankfully, Again and again and again…
there’s lots of it: around 8% Aluminium can be reused for the same
of the Earth’s crust consists purposes over and over again. Unlike
of aluminium in the form of many other materials, aluminium does
different minerals, making it not lose its unique properties during the
recycling process. Furthermore, recyone of the few metals with cling requires only 5% of the original enalmost limitless availability. ergy input. In order to take advantage of
A unique combination
After iron, aluminium is the second most
widely used metal in the world. This is
largely due to its unique combination of
attractive properties. It combines low
weight with high strength and superior
malleability. It has an excellent resistance
these recycling properties, Sapa has remelting facilities in ten countries. Around
50% of our total production is uses recycled aluminium.
Ideal for cars, ideal for the
environment
In terms of environmental impact, the
motor industry has attracted a great deal
of attention; the International Energy
Agency estimates that around 19% of
global man-made greenhouse gases are
generated by the transport sector. In addition, the EU Commission in Europe has
proposed binding targets to produce
cars that emit no more than 130g of carbon dioxide per km by 2012 – the current average is 162 g/km.
Obviously it is vital to develop the
types of fuel we use, but thanks to its
weight-saving properties, aluminium is already having a significant impact on fuel
consumption. In fact, recent studies have
shown that each kilogramme of aluminium used saves an astonishing 20 kg
of greenhouse gas emissions over the
average lifetime of a car.
SAPA IN POLAND
A MODERN SUCCESS STORY
It all started in North-east Poland, in Trzcianka, a town with a population of 20,000. Sapa Poland established its first press here in
1993. Since then Sapa, with just over 600 employees, has become Trzcianka’s largest employer.
Efficient cutting operation
That first press is still in use, but continual Competitive automotive supplier
investment has been made since then. Various types of fabrication, including
Last year’s installation of a third press for welding and assembly, take place in
wider profiles and harder alloys has dou- rooms next to the presses and in a buildbled the company’s capacity. Sapa in ing on the other side of Trzcianka. Sapa
Poland holds a strong position in the do- produces aluminium parts and supplemestic market and is a leader in many ments them with purchased components,
areas, the largest being the construction each adapted to the customer’s production needs. In some
industry. Roughly 40%
cases, the company
of the manufactured
supplies finished prodproducts are anodised.
Value added
ucts packed and ready
There are already two
solutions to the
according to specificaanodising plants in Trzinternational
tion. While profile procianka: one founded in
duction and anodising
2006 and a new, larger,
automotive industry
remain the basis of the
more efficient plant next
company’s production,
to the recently opened
the real grow potential
modern treatment plant.
Environmental issues are of top concern, lies in components, which led to the
and all aspects of the new plant will com- founding in 2009 of Sapa Components in
ply with strict standards. On top of that, Łód . Sapa Components was established
we also have an anodising plant in Łódź, as a competitive automotive supplier
created specifically for automotive market within the Sapa group. We follow a continuous improvement approach, including
requirements.
the Genesis philosophy. We apply wellknown Genesis tools such as 5S, SMED
and other TPM tools.
Roof rails and components
Sapa Components supplies aluminium
value added solutions to the international
automotive industry, including roof rails
and other external accessories, internal
components of passenger cars and structural parts for heavy vehicles, based on
cut to length aluminium profiles. Our main
customers are Tier1 and OEMs based in
France and Sweden, but newly strengthened sales team targets Central and Eastern Europe as well as our local market.
We aim to extend our current capacity
and expand the current product range, in
particular the process of welding and 3D
stretch bending. Both technologies are of
high customer’s interest as witnessed by
new RFQs. The main challenge that lies
ahead is to increase our business achievements with new prospects.
Processing monitoring
GETTING TOUGH
It’s not easy being a car. The growing use of aluminium by vehicle manufacturers has created a pressing issue for manufacturers and suppliers – attack by alkalis. Even at the car
wash, more aggressive cleaning fluids are taking the shine off
aluminium components. Sapa has responded by developing
an enhanced anodising process that offers a much-improved
resistance to corrosive chemicals.
»The new anodising process consists of a
new type of corrosive-resistant coating
that has the ability to inhibit the attack of alkalis on the surface of the anodised aluminium,« says Richard Shaw, Anodising
Manager at Sapa Components Ltd in the
UK.
Well-guarded secret
To give some idea of the improvement,
Shaw says: »Standard aluminium oxide
films are usually stable between a pH
range of 4 to 8. The coating that we intend
to offer is in excess of 12.5 pH.« As the
pH scale is logarithmic with a maximum
value of 14 for the strongest alkalis, the
actual increase from 9 to 12.5 represents
a vast improvement over existing levels.
»Details of the process are a closely
guarded secret«, says Tony Wall, sales director at Sapa Components Ltd.
»We had to overcome considerable
technical hurdles,« he says »to achieve a
coating with the right physical characteristics to deal with increasingly corrosive alkali exposure«. The two-year development
programme along with our main chemical
partners as added an extra dimension to
the anodising capabilities at Sapa Group,
»The make-up of the new chemical formula is key to the process,« Wall says.
Saving fuel
As well as benefiting existing exterior aluminium car components, the new coating
offers vehicle manufacturers the ability to
use this lightweight and recyclable material more widely. Cutting the overall weight
of a vehicle saves fuel consumption and
reduces carbon dioxide emissions. In addition, the resistant aluminium coating also
offers the attractive finish that is used increasingly in exterior trim components.
Tests have been carried out on a num-
ber of automotive components such as
roof rails, window surrounds and grilles
with major car companies including General Motors, Ford, Jaguar and Aston Martin. And following the success of these
trials, the company had its first volume
product order with a major original-equipment manufacturer for finishing of a new
exterior trim.
Two-year lead
These developments are encouraging for
motor manufacturers, who will be keen to
exploit the lightweight, recyclable properties of aluminium for other automotive
parts. By cutting the overall weight of the
vehicle, manufacturers can achieve critical
reductions in both fuel consumption and
carbon dioxide emissions.
Sapa has invested around £500,000 in
production facilities and associated equipment, in order to develop the new
process. This has given them an estimated
two- to three-year lead on their competitors, and will help them push on with their
aim of enabling resistance to 13.5 pH.
This magic figure has been already been
reached in experiments, but has yet to
achieved for production purposes.
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ON CORROSION
The new coating from Sapa has been tested on roof rails,
window surrounds and grilles, with good results.
Shaping the fu
of you
In our mission to support environmental friendly automotive
development initiatives, Sapa recently helped a team of young
engineers from Jaguar and Land Rover in a »green« race for
electric powered vehicles - the Greenpower 2009.
The Greenpower is an electrical car race
that began in 1999. It encourages young
people aged 9-21 to design, build and
race an electrical vehicle in a 4-hour endurance race. It has become a tremendous success with over 400 teams
competing over the years. On Sunday the
26th of April a total of 28 teams were involved in a tough competition at the Goodwood race track in the south of England.
The goal of the project is to promote
engineering and technology as exciting careers for young engineers and to encourage participants to further develop their
own skills and knowledge. It also allows a
team to stay within the competition
throughout their education, involving more
enthusiastic as they go.
Aluminium chassis
Sapa’s participation included the sourcing
of custom made aluminium extrusions for
the construction of the chassis of the car,
as pictured below.
The Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) team in-
cluded around twenty graduate recruits
who developed a car in just 6 months,
working continuously after work in order
to get the car ready for the race day.
Sustainablity thanks to aluminium extrusions
One of the main priorities for the JLR team
in this project was sustainability, and this
influenced their choice of materials: the
criteria used to select the materials for the
Green Power vehicle was a balance of
conventional properties such as weight,
strength and stiffness, with sustainable
properties such as the amount of CO2 required to produce the material from its raw
elements and how recyclable/reusable it
was.
So although carbon fibre offers excellent specific stiffness and strength, it was
ruled out due to the amount of energy required to produce it, and because it is not
recycleable. Instead, aluminium and recycled ABS were used for the main.
Aluminium was used for the chassis and
structural components.
Reducing carbon footprints
Julian Whitehead, director of Sustainability at Jaguar Land Rover, is positive about
Greenpower and the future of sustainable
manufacturing: »The next 30 years will see
unprecedented change in the way we design, develop and construct motor vehicles. As our current graduates progress
through their careers, they will be involved
with a variety of powertrain solutions and
materials. As a consequence, vehicle configuration will change, and our business
carbon footprint will reduce dramatically.
Their careers will be defined by the need
to lower the environmental impact of motoring, and projects such as Greenpower
are an essential step for the engineers of
the future.«
For more information on the event,
please see:
www.jaguarlandrovergreenpower.com
The JLR-Greenpower-2009-team
uture
ung engineers
The chassis made of Sapa extrusions.
Driver Rebecca Lees focuses on the race strategy.
HYDROFORMING
Our starting point is an extruded aluminium profile. Hydroforming allows us to shape it three-dimensionally in a single
operation. The process offers as yet unexplored possibilities.
All, or parts, of a profile’s cross section
can be tailored using hydroforming. In a
single operation, complex parts can be
created with excellent dimensional accuracy, and at the same time it is also possible to make local changes such as domes
or holes. By eliminating several machining
operations, lead times can be shortened.
Hydroforming of aluminium profiles becomes a competitive choice at annual volumes of around 20,000 units upwards.
The principle
The profile is placed in a die that has an
inner geometry exactly replicating the
shape of the finished component. The die
is locked securely in position and hydrostatic pressure is then set up in the pipe
(profile). As the profile is pressed against
the die, it takes on the shape of the die.
The automotive industry –
Research and series deliveries
Since the end of the 90’s, along with Volvo
and Ford, Sapa has been involved in research projects on, and prototype production of, vehicle side beams
hydroformed from extruded aluminium
profiles.
Today, Sapa has world-leading and
unique expertise and experience in the hydroforming of long aluminium beams.
In the autumn of 2001, Sapa began series deliveries to Volvo.
Profile design,
dimensions and tolerances
In discussions, Sapa has contributed advice in respect of a wide range of designs
for, amongst others, the automotive, furniture, electronics and engineering industries. In design discussions, it has become
clear that hydroforming opens the way to
unique solutions for a wide range of design problems. It is not easy to give simple
rules for profile design, dimensions and
tolerances. Instead, why not contact
Sapa’s hydroforming department in Vetlanda, Sweden, for further details.
Example product: Side beam for a Space Frame
Simulation, using the FE method, to study the
critical points in the forming process.
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Cross-sectional change so that
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In order to make a hole during the hydroforming process, a punch is included in the tooling. Punching extends process time by a few seconds
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and exactly the geometry required by the product and production.
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Compared with traditional steel/plate bodies, hydroforming
gives weight savings of around 50%.
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and formability,
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Aluminium weighs a third of the equivalent amount of
steel. This huge weight difference has a multitude of
benefits. For example, when used in freight vehicles,
your load capacity increases and at the same time fuel
consumption decreases. This saves a significant
amount of money over time, and contributes to a reduced impact on the environment. Using aluminium
instead of steel gets to the same final result, but
makes a
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On March 18th, Sapa Automotive, with support from Sapa
North American Technical Center, successfully completed its
first Road Show on site at the Daimler Trucks North America
Headquarters in Portland, Oregon.
The main goals of the Road Show were to:
• increase the Daimler contact base
• illustrate Sapa’s global capabilities
• increase brand awareness
• indentify key opportunities in converting
steel parts into aluminum extruded
solutions
Inspiring presentation
Sapa’s team helped to inspire around 65
Daimler’s product designers, engineers
and purchasers of the possibilities that aluminum extrusions has to offer. We had
brought over 40 automotive sample parts
to help Daimler’s designers see the solutions that aluminum has to offer. The event
was also a great opportunity for Sapa to
present the CVM concept and market the
upcoming USA Profile Academy!
The day began with a 9:30am breakfast
presentation followed by a lunch presentation and wrapped up with a late after-
Some of all the sample parts presented.
noon presentation. The majority of attendees showed up during the lunch presentation. During the day, many conversion
opportunities were identified including
converting battery box brackets as well as
Turbo Air intake from steel to aluminum, air
cylinder line brackets and the longitudinal
cross beams. These are just a few of the
opportunities identified.
Conversion opportunities
The Road Show proved to be a positive
event to get closer to our customers, giving them lots of new ideas and inspiration
for greater lightweight and cost effective
design solutions.
One of the presentations from Sapa.
A solution
tailored for the
environment
When the EU banned lead as an additive
in aluminium alloys, a plant in Italy set
out to find a substitute.
»Creating an alloy mix is like tailoring a
suit,« says Sergio Sannicolo, location
manager for Sapa Profili s.r.l. in Bolzano,
Italy. Just as custom suits are designed for
the wearer, the hard alloys used in the aluminium profiles produced by the Bolzano
plant have to be suited to specific client
needs. Since the Bolzano plant specialises in profiles for automotive and industrial applications (largely hard alloy
screw machine stock for mechanical,
electrical and electronic equipment), the
alloys it uses need to fit the requirements of those industries.
colo recalls. Sapa would have preferred
that the eu specifies a substitute alloy, but
Brussels left it up to the market. So for the
past several years Sapa has focused on
developing a lead-free alloy that would retain lead’s desirable properties.
After many months of research, the
company developed an alloy of aluminium
mixed with magnesium, silicon, copper, tin
and bismuth.
The additives, notably the tin and bismuth, mimic lead in that they enhance the
characteristics of the alloy.
A healthier alternative
»The initial results were very good, just
about as good as alloys with a lead additive, and the shaving problem was handled
well,« says Sapa marketing analyst Claudio Del Furia. »Of course it’s not quite like
Lead prohibitation
Until recently, Sapa had used lead in its lead, but it is rather satisfactory and much
healthier.« Once Sapa
alloy mixes, because the
had an alloy mix it
addition of up to two
thought might work, it
percent lead helped enbegan testing the mix
hance productivity in the
with a German client in
Creating an alloy
manufacturing process.
the automotive industry
Lead reduced excess
mix is like tailorto see how it actually
metal shaving and ining a suit
performed. The client
creased speed and acwas so pleased that he
curacy.
But
two
has ordered 600 tonnes
European Union regulaof the new alloy for
tions passed by the European Parliament in 2002 and 2003, 2009, notes Sannicolo.
coming into effect in 2006 and this year,
essentially prohibited lead as an additive Strives for perfection
in aluminium alloys. (Up to 0.4 percent »We would say that we have reached the
lead is still acceptable, but only if it’s al- 80 percent mark in terms of a solution to
the lead-free issue.«
ready present in recycled aluminium.)
Nevert heless , Sapa continues to work
on the alloy to refine it. Research is ongoFocus on lead-free alloy
»These edicts created significant prob- ing at the company’s research centre in
lems for our industry,« Sanni- Sweden to reduce the waste from metal
shavings, as well as improve quality control. Automotive processes are high speed
In the a
lumini
and highly automated. If a metal is of infeum cyc
the me
le,
rior quality, it threatens both the speed of
tal can
be reus
output and the quality of the final product.
for the
ed
same p
»We should always be striving for perurpose
over an
fection,
no?« says Sannicolo.
do
ver aga
in.
Unlike
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Sapa
Automotive
MAIN SPONSOR FOR
AUTOSLOVAKIA09
Sapa Automotive has been sponsoring
one of the largest Automotive conferences
in Central Europe: AutoSlovakia09. The
conference took place in Bratislava, Slovakia, the 25th and 26th of February
2009. The event gathered 75 delegates
from the automotive industry among
which representatives from PSA, KIA
Motors, Volkswagen, Hyundai, Ford,
Brose, Kongsberg Automotive, Johnson
Controls, Visteon and Continental to
name a few. Sapa exposed key products as well as documentation, displays and logotypes and participated
in fruitful networking meetings.
Brand knowleadge
The conference covered topics
such as local OEM sourcing
strategies, strategies of growth,
managing the relationship between OEM and suppliers, localisation vs regionalisation,
networking roundtables, lean
management, working with
VW, cost management, supply
chain optimisation, etc.
This event was a key marketing activity to increase the brand knowledge of Sapa in Central Europe.
One of the interesting messages we
took with us is the fact that global OEM
are looking for suppliers with both global
footprint and local supply bases, which is
one of the strength of Sapa.
Related Links:
www.autoslovakia.com
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Lotus Evora
THE EUROPEAN ALUMINIUM AWARD WINNER
Lotus provides an automotive structure
with a unique approach. They combined
adhesive bonding techniques with mechanical joining resulting in innovative and
creative solutions.
The jury considered the design to be
very innovative and versatile. Moreover the
design is very courageous, and Lotus took
quite a risk building this structure.
Lotus used the expertise and know-how
in lightweight materials to complete this
structure, achieving a low weight and a
high structural stiffness and therefore ensuring a major impact on environmental
and sustainable performance.
Lotus Lightweight Structures manufacture the chassis complete for Lotus cars.
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uniqu pply most
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SOURCE: LOTUS CARS
Lotus Evora wins the Overall Jury Prize of
the European Aluminium Award competition 2008.
The Jury awarded Lotus Evora to give
special emphasis on the environmental
and sustainable impact of lightweight constructions and products as represented in
this ‘green sportscar’.
The Overall Jury Prize was this year
awarded to Lotus to give special emphasis on the environmental and sustainable
impact of lightweight constructions and
products as represented in this ‘green
sportscar’.
It has been demonstrated that vehicles offering excellent protection for occupants
and vulnerable road users can be designed
using aluminium.
possible for full-aluminium vehicles or hybrid structures with safety-relevant aluminium parts. Succeeding in terms of
safety is rather a matter of design and dimensioning than it is of the material.
Several car models on the market show
that it is possible for full-aluminium vehicles or hybrid structures with safety-relevant aluminium parts.
In a statement by Univ.-Prof. Dr.-Ing.
Stefan Gies, Head of the »Institut für Kraftfahrzeuge«, RWTH Aachen University,
he said:
»It has been demonstrated that vehicles
offering excellent protection for occupants
and vulnerable road users can be designed using aluminium. Several car models on the market and the examples in the
presentations compiled by the European
Aluminium Association show that this is
For more information:
www.aluminium-award.eu
www.grouplotus.com/cars/home.html
ment, then consumers’ misconception of
heavy cars having safety benefits has to
be put into perspective.«
Further information:
www.ika.rwth-aachen.de
A weight issue
At the end of the day, the materials used in
cars will be determined by the costs per
kg weight saved using a certain material
and the strategy of the car manufacturer,
i.e. how much the different OEMs are willing to pay for weight reduction. Consequently, the materials industry will be
challenged to offer innovative solutions
that enable further weight savings or open
up options for lightweight cost reduction.
Finally, if the cars of the future are to be
comfortable and safe, as well as sustainable, as strongly demanded at the mo-
Presentations compiled by the European
Aluminium Association:
aludrive@eaa.be
APPLICATION CENTRE IN MUNICH
Sapa Automotive
Sapa Application Centre
Leopoldstraße 244
D-80807 München
www.sapaautomotive.com
In Automotive´s quest to have a closer relationship with our customers, and to be
nearer and more accessible, on April 1st
we opened a new Application Centre in
Munich.
The office is centrally located in Munich,
only two minutes from Highway A9, and
20 minutes from the airport.
The office has two Application Engineers, Harald Krentzer and Sönke
Holzkamm (see below).
Sönke Ayk Holzkamm
Harald Krenzer
APPLICATION ENGINEER , GERMANY
Harald is 38 years old and born in Fulda. He
now lives outside Munich in Kirchheim with
his family. He has worked for BMW and
Hydro, both as a vehicle engineer and a
project manager. He loves to spend his free
time with his family, as well as running,
cycling, hiking or skiing in the Alps.
APPLICATION ENGINEER , GERMANY
Sönke is 31 years old and he studied
automotive engineering at the University of applied sciences in Hamburg
before settling in Munich. He has designed rollover protection systems
and wind guards for BMW before becoming a freelancer in the supplier
business. He enjoys travelling, reading, socialising and long country
walks.
Andrew Tzang
NEW BUSINESS SEGMENT MANAGER , CHINA
Arnaud Blanchard
KEY ACCOUNT MANAGER , FRANCE
Arnaud is 42 years old and lives in Paris.
He is married with three children.
He started working as a Key Account
Manager with Sapa Automotive in April.
He has 15 years’ experience in the automotive industry, as a development engineer, project leader and salesperson.
His main hobby is playing music in a band.
Andrew has 13 years of experience in the automotive industry, eg trim product design, project
management and dept. management, familiar
with the molding technology, design and
process solutions and manufacturing
processes. He has been program manager
and new product design for key OEMs as
Tata, Chrysler, Chang´an Ford, Chery
Porsche etc. Andrew is 35 years old and
lives in Shanghai. He got married last year,
and he and his wife would like to spend their holiday in Sweden. They love delicious dinners and
to watch movies.
Louis Jin
KEY ACCOUNT MANAGER , CHINA
Louis is 33 years old and lives in Shanghai,
China. He has been working as a Key Account
Manager with Sapa Automotive since January.
He has nine years’ experience in the automotive industry and has previously worked as a
designer at JCI and Autoliv. His interests include football and a love of history.
Gary Diao
APPLICATION ENGINEER , CHINA
He is 31 years old, married, born in
Hebei province. He majored in material
foaming & control from Henan University
of technology.
FACTUM REKLAMBYRÅ
Global total supplier
HEAD OFFICE
SAPA AUTOMOTIVE SALES OFFICES
Sapa Automotive
SE-574 81 Vetlanda
Sweden
Telephone +46 383 941 00
Fax +46 383 101 85
Sweden
France
United
Kingdom
Germany
Poland
The
Netherlands
For further information: www.sapaautomotive.com
China
USA
RESPONSIBLE PUBLISHER LAURENT ANDRZEJEWSKI
Sapa locations around the world