As a major supplier to the automotive electronics industry, the company’s product range in the “Automotive” business segment includes technologically sophisticated stamped and bent parts produced in high volumes as well as highly complex mechanical and mechatronic assemblies. The products are used, inter alia, in navigation, braking and exhaust systems as well as in the electronic control of automatic transmissions.
The “Semicon” business segment comprises the production of lead frames, i.e. conductor carriers for the manufacture of semiconductor chips and other electronic components, primarily at the Asian sites and in the Netherlands. The electronic components are not only used in the semiconductor, LED and automotive industries, but also in industrial automation and safety and control systems.
The 2022 financial year was primarily characterised by a largely stable demand, an only gradual easing of the Corona restrictions in China and supply chain problems, especially in the first half of the year. As a result, global automotive demand grew only moderately and remained at a low level worldwide. Global car production in the past year therefore remained below the level of the previous years. Demand in the semiconductor industry was also weaker year-on-year.
Overall, the Electronics division was able to achieve an increase in turnover of about 16 %. This is pleasing against the background of the partly difficult general conditions. With this rate, the division was able to grow at a similar rate as in the previous year. However, it must be taken into account that a large part of the increase in sales is due to higher prices and also positive currency effects.
Innovations are made in the Electronics division for the automotive business at the site in Niefern- Öschelbronn mainly in close cooperation with customers. The market for high-security applications relies on flexible press-fit contacts of the pretPin® brand from Possehl Electronics. In addition to the pretPin® product family, development work was continued on various generic as well as customer-specific geometry alternatives. This is Possehl Electronics’ response to customer- and application-specific needs in order to lay a foundation for further diversification.
Furthermore, the patented Stackpac® enclosure concept for small electronic units, which was developed in-house, was presented to a broad public in the year under review. The high response due to the possibility of a 3-dimensional functionalisation of enclosures on the basis of economical, robust standard technologies led to a concretisation of future fields of application in cooperation with the customers. In addition to the possibility of modularisation in electronics, new prerequisites are opening up for thermal as well as electrical improvements that could be of interest in the future, especially for the European industry.