J. Sala: “Mann+Hummel is a unique solution with multiple uses”

Jorge Sala: It has been a fairly successful year for suppliers, and Mann+Hummel is following its roadmap in line with its targets. By region, Europe was among those that brought us extra market share for our four brands, given that the need for filtration on ageing fleets is significant all over the world. That said, we are seeing a natural decline in demand for filtration in the Nordic countries, and more broadly for spare parts, directly correlated with the increase in the electric fleet. Our growth there is therefore lower than in Germany or Spain, where we are performing well. We have accelerated in France, even though the market is under pressure. There are still some great opportunities in France!

J.S.: I have observed the penetration of our premium brand Mann+Filter among established suppliers who are constantly streamlining their customer portfolios and logistics footprints to reduce their space occupancy rates. We are a single-product but multi-business company, with the ability to deliver small quantities anywhere in Europe. So offering a one-stop shop combining filtration products, flexibility and tailored services, with four well-priced multi-segment brands (see box), is a unique, multipurpose response to these resizing requirements among distributors.

J.S.: It's a very important issue, in terms of both products and services. Innovation is omnipresent at all levels of the group, from OE to IAM, and is a fundamental element in our performance indicators (€128 million invested in R&D, 1,000 engineers). We have developed new generations of recycled filters with bio-based media to replace fossil fuel resins, filters dedicated to electric vehicles (VentPlus) to protect the high-voltage battery system, and ion exchange filters to prevent short circuits in fuel cells (OmniFmow i6-3 and IonFree). The key issue is in diversification, but always focused on a single product in the catalogue (air, water, oil, fuel, passenger compartment, transmission, coolant, battery systems)!

J.S.: It ties in with the topic of innovation. AI is already well established in all of the group's business lines. What catches the eye most is how product development has accelerated. We are also fine-tuning our references and customer order forecasts, operational transactions, etc., but I would stress that AI will never replace the human support provided by the field sales force. It simply eliminates non value-added tasks.

J.S.: What is certain is that consolidation is far from complete. The European market is still as fragmented as ever, as everyone knows. And in the current context, everyone is expecting restructuring. The question is when it will happen. The core business of the aftermarket remains the same: delivering parts on time and through all channels to repair shops for their end customers. However, each European country has its own culture and customs, distribution chain, needs, etc., so no single strategy can be replicated identically. You can't apply the same rules in Italy as in the UK, for example. Everyone is in the same boat when it comes to this rule, distributors and suppliers alike.

J.S.: This is a sign of a total disconnect between political will and economic reality! Manufacturers have spent ten years and billions of euros transforming their factories to produce electric vehicles and gigafactories, without politicians taking any interest in whether consumers would follow suit. All players in the industry warned of the risks and the nonsense of this approach, but their warnings fell on deaf ears. We, the suppliers, have invested in major programmes to be ready... The aim is to be strong enough to wait and answer the call when the market is ready. But how many deaths will there be in the meantime?

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