News

Aisin Seiki Co., Ltd. (hereinafter "Aisin Seiki", President: Yasumori Ihara) and Art Metal Mfg. Co., Ltd. (hereinafter "Art Metal", President: Mitsunori Ishihara) concluded a basic agreement on integration of management through Aisin Seiki acquiring majority ownership of Art Metal shares.

Until now engine-related parts have been one of the cornerstones of Aisin Seiki's business, and we have expanded this business unit by building on the strengths of an extensive product lineup ranging from pistons and cooling pumps to peripheral components. Now, however, to ensure the continued growth of next-generation products that can contribute to vehicles' heat management and weight reduction, there is an urgent need to carry out efficient management of development resources.

Meanwhile, Art Metal has been a specialized piston manufacturer since its establishment, and over long years of amassing propriety technologies, has capitalized on strengths in low-cost technology and highly maneuverable precision manufacturing to successfully market products to many customers, primarily automakers. In recent years the company has been accelerating its business expansion overseas, but this is still an initiative in progress.

Moving forward, as automakers increasingly accelerate their global business expansion, it is predicted that in addition to fierce cost competition particularly in emerging nations, there will be a broadening of technological development needs in line with the diversification of powertrains. The two companies have decided to integrate our management to address our specific issues effectively and achieve sustainable growth in this environment, aiming to build the world's most competitive piston manufacturer and speed up development of related system products.

In the coming days, Aisin Seiki and Art Metal will seek to maximize our unique resources and technologies to maximum advantage, achieve optimum consolidation of functions, and construct a framework for partnership, aiming for even further growth so as to deliver products that satisfy customers around the world.

Please note that the integration is scheduled for April 1, 2017, but is dependent on certain conditions including approval by the Japan Fair Trade Commission and other Japanese and international authorities.

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