Faurecia says this acquisition is an important step in its development of expertise in the area of composites, a technology which is expected to experience strong growth over the coming years.
Sora Composites has plans in Theillay and Saint-Méloir-des-Ondes, France, where it produces both carbon and glass fibre composite body and structural parts using processes such as resin transfer moulding (RTM) and sheet moulding compound (SMC). Its customers include Renault, PSA Peugeot Citroën, Aston Martin, Audi, Lotus and McLaren Automotive.
Faurecia’s objective is to bring composite materials to the mass production of automotive parts. To further this aim It has set-up a number of R&D partnerships, with the Fraunhofer Institut in Karlsruhe (Germany), the French Center for Advanced Studies in Composite Materials for Transport applications (CEMCAT), the French ESTACA engineering school, and with the French Ecole Centrale de Nantes engineering school (Composite Chair).
Faurecia is the world's sixth-largest automotive equipment supplier with four key business groups: automotive seating; emissions control technologies; interior systems; and automotive exteriors. In 2011, the Faurecia Group posted total sales of €16.2 billion. It employs around 84 000 people in 33 countries.
