Ficosa, short for Ficosa International S.A., is a Spanish
multinational corporation
A multinational company (MNC), also referred to as a multinational enterprise (MNE), a transnational enterprise (TNE), a transnational corporation (TNC), an international corporation or a stateless corporation with subtle but contrasting senses, i ...
, devoted to the research, development, production of systems and parts for the automotive industry.
[laempresafamiliar.com]
Ficosa, la automoción en familia
Founded in 1949 and headquartered in
Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
, it has production centres, engineering centres and commercial offices in 19 countries in Europe, North America, South America and Asia, with 6,700 employees (2010).
Revenue was €900 million in 2008, with 80% coming from international sales.
History
Ficosa was started in Barcelona in 1949 when Josep Maria Pujol and Josep Maria Tarragó founded Pujol y Tarragó S.L., a small workshop which produced mechanical cables for the after-sales market.
[La Gaceta, Intereconomia, 24/07/2011]
Innovación, tecnología, ideas nuevas e ilusión, esencia de Ficosa
The company grew and opened an office in Portugal in 1970.
After 1985, when Spain joined the
EU, Ficosa started a strong international expansion.
Ficosa expanded to USA and Mexico in 1995, and to Brazil and Argentina in 1997.
In 1998 it was established in India, through a ''
joint venture
A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acces ...
'' with the
Tata Group
The Tata Group () is an Indian multinational conglomerate headquartered in Mumbai. Established in 1868, it is India's largest conglomerate, with products and services in over 150 countries, and operations in 100 countries across six continent ...
.
In 2001 Ficosa purchased the mirror division of
Magneti Marelli
Magneti Marelli S.p.A. () is an Italian developer and manufacturer of components for the automotive industry. The firm is headquartered in Corbetta, Italy, and includes 86 manufacturing plants, 12 R&D centres, and 26 application centers in 19 c ...
.
Ficosa opened an office in Japan in 2001 and established alliances in Korea (2001), Romania and China (2002).
In 2005 Ficosa opened second factories in Turkey and India and a new factory in Poland.
In 2006 a subsidiary and an engineering center was opened in China, and a third factory in India.
An engineering center was opened in 2006 in
Monterrey
Monterrey ( , ) is the capital and largest city of the northeastern state of Nuevo León, Mexico, and the third largest city in Mexico behind Guadalajara and Mexico City. Located at the foothills of the Sierra Madre Oriental, the city is anchor ...
(Mexico). Russian operations started in 2007.
In 2008 Ficosa acquired the assets of the US company Delbar.
Together with Omron it created the company Adasens, specialized in ADAS (
advanced driver-assistance systems).
Ficosa acquired the companies Imic in 2010 and Camryn in 2011, with production plants in
Indiana
Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...
,
Tennessee
Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...
and
Kentucky
Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia to ...
and a technical center in
Michigan
Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...
, increasing its mirror systems market share to 28,7% in the
NAFTA
The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA ; es, Tratado de Libre Comercio de América del Norte, TLCAN; french: Accord de libre-échange nord-américain, ALÉNA) was an agreement signed by Canada, Mexico, and the United States that crea ...
region.
In July 2014, Ficosa negotiated a capital increase of 100 million euros. Negotiations were open, with a focus on Japan. In September 2014, an agreement was reached with Panasonic according to which the Japanese company will acquire 49% of the shares of the Viladecavalls-based group. Panasonic made this purchase with the intention of gaining the experience in automotive glass that Ficosa has, with a view to the future electronic mirror of vehicles. The cost of the purchase was not made public, but industry sources estimated it at around 200 million euros. This sale also served to put an end to the dispute between the Pujol and Tarragó families, the company's main shareholders who had been at enmity since 2011.
In March 2017, Panasonic took control of the company, acquiring 69% of the shares.
Corporate structure
The Ficosa Group is made of 40 companies from all over the world: Ficosa-owned companies, associated companies and subsidiaries, joint ventures and strategic alliances.
Europe
Spain
* Ficosa International, S.A.
* Fico Cables, S.A.
* Ficomirrors, S.A.
* Fico Transpar, S.A.
* Fico Triad, S.A.
* Ficosa Electronic
* Advanced Automotive Antennas, S.L.
* Industrias Technoflex, S.A.
* Lames Ibérica, S.A.
* Flexibles Barcelona, S.L.
* Suministros Hidráulicos Valencia, S.L.
* Ficosa Galicia, S.L.
* Somnoalert, AIE
* Adasens Automotive, S.L.
* Ficosa Int. Grupo Mecánica del Vuelo Sistemas, UTE
Portugal
* Ficosa International, Lda.
* Fico Cables, Lda.
Germany
* Ficosa International GmbH
* Adasens Automotive GmbH
United Kingdom
* Ficosa International Ltd.
Italy
* Ficosa International, S.r.l.
* Ficomirrors Italia, S.r.l. a s.u.
France
* Ficosa International, S.A.
* Fico Cipa, S.A.
* Ficomirrors France, S.A.S
* Seric, S.A.
* Marice Lecoy, S.A.
* Cipa Industrie, S.A.
Poland
* Ficomirrors Polska SP. Z.O.O.
Romania
* SC UAMT (Alliance - Licensing)
Turkey
* Ficosa Otomotiv Sanayi Ve Ticaret Anonim Sirketi
* Ficosa International Otomotiv San Ve Tic. A.S.
Russia
* Zavod Avtocomponent (Alliance - Licensing)
America
United States
* Ficosa North America Corp.
Mexico
* Ficosa North America S.A. de C.V.
Brasil
* Ficosa do Brasil, Ltda.
Argentina
* Ficosa Argentina, S.A.
Asia
India
* Tata Ficosa Automotive Systems, Ltd. (Joint Venture.....)
* Ficosa India Engineering Center pvt. Ltd, Hyderabad
China
* Ficosa International (Shanghai) Automotive Components Co., Ltd.
* Ficosa International Taicang Co. LTD.
* Shanghai Ficosa Traiding Co. LTD
* Ficosa International Shenyang Co. LTD
Korea
* Daeshin Machinery Ind. Co., Ltd. (Joint Venture)
Japan
* Ficosa Japan (Technical and Commercial Office)
* Tata Ficosa Automotive Systems, Ltd. (Joint Venture.....)
References
{{Reflist
External links
FICOSA official site SpanienFICOSA official site Deutschland
Auto parts suppliers of Spain
Manufacturing companies based in Barcelona
1949 establishments in Spain
Manufacturing companies established in 1949
Multinational companies headquartered in Spain
Panasonic