Car roofs specialist Webasto has acquired Carlex Glass Luxembourg SA in Grevenmacher (Luxembourg).
Carlex manufactures glass elements for passenger cars and has many international carmakers among its customers and was previously part of Carlex Glass America LLC, based in Nashville, Tennessee.
Go deeper with GlobalData
“Investing in our own glass manufacturing facility is an important strategic step for us in strengthening the competitiveness of our top-selling business unit – and consequently of the entire Webasto Group,” said Dr. Holger Engelmann, Chairman of the Management Board of Webasto SE.
“Electromobility and autonomous driving are having a major impact on the development of car roofs. For instance, demand for increasingly ‘intelligent’ roofs in openable and non-openable roof systems is growing. Glass is of special significance here. The fact that we can now offer automakers worldwide well thought-out and innovative ideas for future mobility solutions – hand-in-hand with our new colleagues in Luxembourg – makes us happy and proud,” said Engelmann.
Freddy Geeraerds, Webasto Management Board member with global responsibility for the Group’s roof business, adds: “Expanding our expertise in glass production opens up multiple new possibilities for us – in the areas of switchable glazing, ambient lighting and solar roofs, for example. Demand for these functionalities no longer only exists for the premium segment, but increasingly for small- and medium-class mass-produced vehicles, too. Moreover, ‘smart glass’ is also playing an increasingly important role in self-driving cars, which we developed the Roof Sensor Module for, for example in terms of privacy, safety and entertainment. So, Webasto already is offering roof systems for an electric future.”
Webasto said the glass experts at Carlex will collaborate closely with their colleagues in roof system development and validation at the company headquarters in Stockdorf near Munich. The new location operates under the name Webasto Luxembourg S.A.
US Tariffs are shifting - will you react or anticipate?
Don’t let policy changes catch you off guard. Stay proactive with real-time data and expert analysis.
By GlobalData