Establishment of Southeast Asian Headquarters for automotive parts in Bangkok, Thailand
- Building a trade area expansion system for Japanese customers -

September 9, 2014

FURUKAWA AUTOMOTIVE SYSTEMS INC.

Following the establishment of the headquarters for the China market in Shanghai, PRC in July, Furukawa Electric Group company Furukawa Automotive Systems Inc. (headquarters: Kora-cho, Inukami-gun, Shiga Prefecture) established a new company on February 13, 2014 in Bangkok, Thailand. The company started a business in July to oversee the design, sales, and procurement functions with the goal of enhancing customer support capabilities as well as expanding the trading area in the Southeast Asia market.

Background

Annual automobile production in the Southeast Asia market is currently at about four million vehicles, and it expected to increase to about six million vehicles in 2020. Japanese automotive manufacturers—who are major customers of Furukawa Electric —have more than 80% share in the market. As we are planning to expand the trading area of our automotive parts business globally, this is positioned as the most important market.

Purpose

In order to respond to the recent acceleration of customer vehicle designs and localization of purchasing in the South Asia market, the new company established design and sales functions in Thailand where is the center of the market, and .it will provide our customers with rapid and even higher quality service.

In addition, we also established a procurement control function and we will strengthen cost competitiveness by building an optimal parts sourcing network in the Southeast Asia region as well as promote local procurement of materials combined with sales and design.

New Company Overview

(1) Company name: Furukawa Automotive Systems Asia Pacific Co., Ltd. (Abbreviation: FAAP)
(2) Headquarters: Bangkok, Thailand
(3) Investment ratio: Furukawa Automotive Systems Inc. 100%
(4) President: Shigenobu Abe
(5) Capital: 20 million Thai Baht
(6) Business operations: Wire harness design and control of procurement and sales in the Southeast Asia Region
(7) Established: February 13, 2014
(8) Number of employees: 14 (planned as of the end of this year)
(9) Contact: +66 (0) 2168-3290

About Furukawa Electric Group

Furukawa Electric (TSE; 5801, ISIN; JP3827200001) Group started business in 1884, when its copper-smelting facility and wire manufacturing factory was established. Since then Furukawa Electric has become pioneers in the latest technologies by addressing diverse technological issues. Furukawa Electric has released products in a number of areas, including telecommunications, electronics, automobiles, and construction, with the three types of materials it works with at their core, namely, optics, plastics, and metals. Many of these products have attained the top global market share, and all of its products have contributed to society in numerous business areas. Furukawa Electric reported consolidated revenues of JPY 931.8 billion (approximately USD 9.3B) for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2014.