Trelleborg (company)

Trelleborg AB is a global engineering group focused on polymer technology, with headquarters in Trelleborg, Sweden, with approximately 24,000 employees (2018), and with yearly revenue of 34 billion SEK. Its stock has been publicly listed on stock exchanges since 1964, and currently (2019) is listed on the Nasdaq Stockholm, large cap. It has operations in about 50 countries and describes its mission as the development of "engineered polymer solutions that seal, damp and protect critical applications in demanding environments".

Trelleborg AB

Type	Publicly traded Aktiebolag
Traded as	Nasdaq Stockholm: TREL B
Industry	Polymer engineering
Founded	1905
Founder	Henry Dunker and Johan Kock
Headquarters	Trelleborg, Sweden
Area served	Worldwide
Key people	Hans Biörck Chairman Peter Nilsson President and CEO
Revenue	34 billion SEK (2018)
Operating income	4,022,000,000 Swedish krona (2017)
Net income	2,874,000,000 Swedish krona (2017)
Number of employees	24,000 (2018)
Divisions	Trelleborg Coated Systems, Trelleborg Industrial Systems, Trelleborg Offshore and Construction, Trelleborg Sealing Solutions, Trelleborg Wheel Systems
Website	www.trelleborg.com

Trelleborg AB Headquarters, in Trelleborg, Sweden.

History

The company was founded in 1905 as "Trelleborgs Gummifabriks AB" (the Rubber Factory Corporation of Trelleborg) by Henry Dunker and Johan Kock, who were both already active in the rubber industry. Initially, the company had 150 employees and produced bicycle tires and rubber for industrial applications. During World War I, the Swedish Armed Forces placed substantial orders.

By the mid 1930s, the number of employees had reached 1,000. Beginning in the 1950s, the share of revenue from sales outside of Sweden increased; in 1950, it was 4%, and in 1970, it was 40%. In 1964, Trelleborgs Gummifabriks AB was floated at the Stockholm Stock Exchange. The current name was adopted in 1977. Between 1983 and 1991, the strategy was to act as a wide-ranging industrial conglomerate, with a particular focus on mining and metals. Later, the company's focus returned to rubber products. In 1999, the scope was further narrowed by specializing in industrial applications. In 2003, polymer-based precision seals were added to the product offerings. In 2009 the European Commission fined several marine hose producers, among them Trelleborg AB, "...for participating in a cartel for marine hoses between 1986 and 2007 in violation of the ban on cartels and restrictive business practices in the EC Treaty (Article 81) and the EEA Agreement (Article 53)." [1] In mid 2012, Trelleborg and Freudenberg formed a 50/50 joint venture in antivibration solutions for light and heavy vehicles, TrelleborgVibracoustic. In summer 2016, Trelleborg divested all of its shares to Freudenberg and that concluded the Automotive antivibration journey.[2]

Operations

Trelleborg TM 900 710-75 R 42

Trelleborg tire TM 2000 on a forage harvester (fitted with CTIS)

Trelleborg AB is divided into the following business areas:[3]

• Trelleborg Coated Systems (polymer-coated fabrics)
• Trelleborg Industrial Solutions (hose systems, industrial antivibration solutions and selected industrial sealing systems)
• Trelleborg Offshore & Construction (polymer-based solutions for offshore oil & gas and infrastructure)
• Trelleborg Sealing Solutions (precision seals for industry, aviation and vehicles) – Founded in 1952, Trelleborg Sealing Solutions was previously a part of the Smiths Group's precision seals business. This business, Polymer Sealing Solutions, consisted of four rubber units. These were Busak+Shamban, Dowty Automotive, Shamban and Forsheda. In 2003, Polymer Sealing Solutions was acquired by Trelleborg AB. The name Busak+Shamban remained with all marketing locations, but the manufacturing locations became known as Trelleborg Sealing Solutions. As of April 2, 2007 the Busak+Shamban name was retired, with all locations being brought under the Trelleborg Sealing Solutions umbrella.
• Trelleborg Wheel Systems (tires and wheels for agriculture, forestry and materials handling vehicles)

Market

Trelleborg AB was in 2011, according to Rubber & Plastics News, the third largest player in the world market for non-tire rubber products.[4]

Ranking by sales	Company	Country
1	Continental A.G.	Germany
2	Hutchinson S.A.	France
3	Trelleborg AB	Sweden
4	Freudenberg Group	Germany
5	Bridgestone Corp	Japan
6	NOK Inc.	Japan
7	Tokai Rubber Industries Ltd.	Japan
8	Pinafore Holdings B.V.	United Kingdom
9	Cooper-Standard Automotive	United States
10	Parker-Hannifin Corp.	United States

The net sales for 2018 had the following geographical distribution:[5]

Region	Share of sales
Western Europe	48%
Rest of Europe	10%
North America	22%
Asia and other markets	16%
South and Central America	4%

Ownership

The 10 largest shareholders of Trelleborg AB, as of December 31, 2018:[6]

No	Shareholder	Percent of share capital	Percent of votes
1	Dunker Fund & Foundations[lower-alpha 1]	10.70%	54.01%
2	Didner & Gerge Funds	6.20%	3.20%
3	Allianz Global Investors	5.00%	2.60%
4	Janus Henderson Investors	4.40%	2.30%
5	AMF Insurance & Funds	3.70%	1.90%
6	Lannebo Funds	3.50%	1.80%
7	First Swedish National Pension Fund	2.80%	1.40%
8	Vanguard	2.40%	1.20%
9	Handelsbanken Funds	2.40%	1.20%
10	Norges Bank	1.90%	1.00%

1. All of the Series A shares are owned by the Dunker Funds and Foundations, which were created through testamentary disposition by the founder of the Helsingborg and Trelleborg rubber-production plants, Henry Dunker.

Governance

Since April 26, 2018, Hans Biörck has been Chairman of Trelleborg AB. The following table lists the chairmen in chronological order since the company was founded.

Period	Chairman
August 24, 1905 – December 18, 1909	Gustaf Lagergren
December 19, 1909 – May 1, 1945	Johan Kock
May 2, 1945 – May 3, 1962	Henry Dunker
May 17, 1962 – May 24, 1965	Lars Gunnar Ohlsson
May 25, 1965 – May 25, 1970	Hadar Hallström
May 26, 1970 – May 17, 1976	Lars Gunnar Ohlsson
May 18, 1976 - May 30, 1985	Åke Ståhlbrandt
May 31, 1985 – May 30, 1990	Ernst Herslow
May 31, 1990 – April 23, 2002	Rune Andersson
April 24, 2002 – April 23, 2013	Anders Narvinger
April 24, 2013 – April 25, 2018	Sören Mellstig
April 26, 2018 –	Hans Biörck

Since October 1, 2005, Peter Nilsson has been president and CEO of Trelleborg AB. The following table lists the presidents and CEOs in chronological order since the company was founded.

Period	President and CEO
August 24, 1905 – May 17, 1947	Henry Dunker
September 1, 1939 – July 21, 1949 (at the time, the law permitted appointment of more than one CEO)	Hilding Ståhlbrandt
August 29, 1949 – May 17, 1976	Åke Ståhlbrandt
May 18, 1976 – April 30, 1983	Arne Lundqvist
May 1, 1983 – May 30, 1990	Rune Andersson
May 31, 1990 – January 26, 1999	Kjell Nilsson
January 27, 1999 – February 8, 1999	Hans Porat (temporary)
February 9, 1999 – September 30, 2005	Fredrik Arp
October 1, 2005 –	Peter Nilsson

References

1. http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-09-137_en.htm
2. History
3. Organization
4. Bruce Meyer (2011). "Rankings". Rubber & Plastics News. Crain Communications (July 09): 12.
5. Annual Report
6. Ownership structure