DISCOVER NOVARES OVER 60 YEARS OF INNOVATION Novares’ history comes from a perfect match between Mecaplast and Key Plastics. Founded by Charles Manni, a big contributor to the Monegasque economy, the company started with 5 employees in a small 15-meters warehouse. They focused on producing a variety of automobile parts for local distributers and auto manufacturers. 1955 – Mecaplast’s first production of chemical condenser caps. Fact: In 1964, Mecaplast became known for the production of a popular, durable plastic fan used in the 204 Peugeot engine. FROM REGIONAL SUPPLIER THE 1980’S Mecaplast continued to established a reputation for itself in Europe, notably in France, Spain, Turkey and Germany as an automotive supplier specializing in the production of engine and car body parts. The company further developed innovative engine systems with user friendly features such as CO2 reduction, sound proofing and weight saving. USER-FRIENDLY FOCUS The company grew to become a major player in the European automotive equipment market, and began to address the international OEMs car manufacturers. 1986 – Key Plastics Founded. Fact: In 1988, Mecaplast produced the 1st thermoplastic cam cover ever in the world. KEY PLASTICS IS BORN Located in Livonia, Michigan, Key Plastics was established in 1986 and known for its ‘best in class’ advanced engineering, design expertise plus a focus on product development and R&D. 2000 – Carlyle as main shareholder of Key Plastics. 2002 – Neyr Acquisition by Mecaplast. 2003 – Aries Acquistion by Mecaplast. THE NEW MILLENNIUM OIL SEPARATION DEVICE In 2004, key developments were made in non-woven synthetic media for air filtration and in oil separation for cam covers. The basic concept is the use of fixed propellers when the other competitors used helicoidal systems. Mecaplast solutions were more compact, easily integrated into the engine configuration, allowing to separate oil with incomparable performance. 2004 – Acquisition by Key Plastics of Kenidron Automotive, (Germany, Czech Rep., Spain). Fact: Since 2005, more than 8 million parts from these concepts were successfully delivered to customers. PRODUCT LINE EXPANDS Mecaplast product line expands to produce Exterior Trim and specific products for Trucks, innovative storage systems, new architectures and new flexible materials. The company started to develop collaborative projects with customers such as FoamIN, Plume, Arizona, Opera4fev and more to total 13 collaborative programs in the next 5 years. 2009 – ‘Fonds Avenir Automobile’ (FAA) owns 33% of shares of Mecaplast. 2009 – Wayzata become new owner of Key Plastics. 2010 – Acquisition of Olho group by Key Plastics (Germany, Czech Rep.). From 2012, Pierre Boulet, CEO, led the group and the company expanded further. Mecaplast became a key supplier to the OEMs, offering the largest product range in engine, interior and exterior trim. 2012 – Key Plastics non-core divestitures. Fact: 142 patents 100% PLASTIC OIL PAN In 2013, Mecaplast replaced the conventional aluminium alloy oil pan by a plastic part, which can integrate new functions like oil filter, oil strainer, oil cooler, baffle plate. Fact: In 2015, the company established itself in 18 countries and employed 6,000 employees. PLASTIC-TEXTILE HYBRID ENGINE COVER This innovation contributes to the reduction of engine noise and is produced with a one shot hybrid engine cover using plastic and textile. METHOD OF MANUFACTURING FOAMED PARTS This innovation concerning foamed parts significantly contributes to more than 30% weight savings. The chemical foaming process has been specifically developed to produce visible parts. 2016 – Mecaplast disposal of Truck activity. Fact: In 2016, over 90,000 tons of plastic consumed, and 200 million parts produced for the automobile market. MECAPLAST & KEY PLASTICS JOIN FORCES In 2016, Equistone Partners invests and partners with Mecaplast. Mecaplast joins with Michigan based Key Plastics. With a new combined workforce of 10,000 employees, the group today offers the wide range of structured products from engine to interior, exterior car body plastic parts, including complex mechanisms and decorations. Fact: In 2016, Mecaplast-Key Plastics proudly reported a year-end turnover of €1.1Bn¹. Headquartered in France, the new group has: 45 Production plants, 8 Skill Centers, 9 Technical Centers, 750 engineers & technicians and a global footprint in 23 countries. ¹Pro forma financial information of Novares including the acquisition of Key Plastics, IFRS. 100% PLASTIC HEAT EXCHANGER This innovation is a first in automotive industry to be released in 2017. It allows the replacement of conventional aluminium alloy heat exchanger by a plastic part, which can be integrated more easily into engine parts such as an air intake manifold. TO GLOBAL PLAYER IN 2017, MECAPLAST -KEY PLASTICS REBRANDS AS NOVARES Novares is a global plastic solutions provider that designs, manufactures complex components & systems serving the future of the automotive industry. With newly created customer portfolio of 7 product lines, worldwide presence, R&D capability, the company sets the ground for its’ future success. Novares delivers products and services to worldwide manufacturers such as Dongfeng Peugeot-Citroen, PSA, Renault-Nissan-Dacia, Ford, Fiat Chrysler, Daimler, Audi, Toyota, General Motors, Jaguar Land Rover, BMW, SAIC, Daimler, Audi, and Volkswagen (final OEMs car manufacturers) as well as suppliers (Tier-1) such as Yanfeng Johnson Controls (YFJCI), Faurecia, IAC, Continental, Visteon. 204 patents 750 engineers & technicians and a global footprint in 23 countries. 5,6% annual turnover in R&D Approximately 10 co-innovation projects with our customers launched. FEB 2019 MPC INTEGRATION / 1972 MPC FOUNDED 140 years of expertise combined as one group 2020 ONWARDS AMBITION Be a major player in automotive solutions, serving all major OEMs on a global basis with innovative solutions & superior quality products at a competitive level for the benefit of employees & shareholders AMBITION AND STRATEGY WE HAVE WHAT IT TAKES GLOBAL PROXIMITY LEARN MORE ABOUT NOVARES Visit our newsroom Novares Copyright © 2021 Novares. All rights reserved - Terms of use Cookie Policy We use cookies to optimize our website and services. Cookie Policy Accept all Deny all Settings