Corporate Strategie-and Sustainability Management

CORPORATE STRATEGY

OUR STRATEGY
Digitization and automation, aspiring new markets, and ongoing globalization present us and our customers in the aerospace sector, the automotive and construction industries, and other branches of industrial technology with entirely new challenges. We recognized the various opportunities this offers and are systematically working on making the most of them. As such, we are methodically and responsibly heeding the words spoken by our founder’s descendant in the 1960s:

“The future will be what we make it.” Our Aerospace, Automotive, and Extrusions divisions are therefore strategically readying themselves to play a part in shaping tomorrow’s world. We are pursuing three primary objectives in our core markets in this regard. Firstly, we are seeking to be the “best in class” with our products, services, and processes, in order to always be in a position to provide our customers with first-class customized products and solutions. To achieve this, our second objective is to build up and expand our expertise by means of various initiatives. As an economically driven company, it is also important to us that we remain competitive, in other words that we work efficiently and on the basis of cost-effective structures. Above all, there is the expectation that we consistently have of ourselves, namely that “If we can’t do it, it’s impossible.” This is the motto by which we are judged when we ensure technological progress around the world in our fields of activity with our products and solutions. Our expertise in lightweight construction is becoming more and more significant with regard to the conservation of resources. The focus here is on safety-related applications within the Aerospace and Automotive divisions.

To be able to sustainably realize this ambitious business model, we adopt a systematic approach in all of our divisions. Internally, we set great store by treating our employees fairly and with responsibility, continuously improving processes, and making considerable investments. We invest first and foremost in our own research and development and in renovating and expanding our sites around the world. We had an investment ratio of 16 percent in the reporting period, which is well above the industry average. Externally, we maintain cooperative and inclusive partnerships with our customers, suppliers, independent research institutes, and other partners. As a result, we are familiar with the specific needs within our business fields and can respond agilely and flexibly to changes in the market. This makes us a preferred business partner around the world. Our employees play an important part in this, as they embody our company’s expertise and apply it in the interests of our customers and the company. They therefore make an indispensable contribution to the company’s ongoing development and to safeguarding the OTTO FUCHS Group’s leading position in the long term.

OUR SUSTAINABILITY APPROACH

Sustainability in all areas is very important to OTTO FUCHS. As a family-owned enterprise, we feel we have an obligation to do business sustainably for the generations to come and to act environmentally and in a socially acceptable way in the interests of our surroundings. Our business activities and the complexity of our processes have necessitated high standards from the outset. Focal issues such as occupational safety, the environment, and how we treat our employees have been top priorities for us for generations. And above all, there is the high expectation we have of ourselves that we will continuously
make our systems and practices more efficient and more effective on the basis of our certified ongoing improvement programs.

We as a group wish to actively shape the future in order to do justice to the various and increasing internal and external sustainability requirements.

SUSTAINABILITY MANAGEMENT

The steps we are currently taking in this direction include the further systemization, consolidation, coordination, and communication of OTTO FUCHS’ sustainability activities. In this context, we developed the above process which is applicable across all our sites and departments, to continuously improve our sustainability record.

A key part of the sustainability strategy process is dialog with important interested parties. We maintain dialog with the various contacts in order to note their requirements, discuss challenges, and present to them what we realize. We then systemize the input we receive and analyze the most important issues. Identifying the crucial issues plays an important part in making our sustainability strategy a success. This holistic view and the resultant focusing allow us to pursue social, environmental, and economic goals and synchronize the individual objectives. Thanks to this systematic approach, we are then able to develop and implement a precise strategy which meets our stakeholders’ requirements and satisfies the expectations we have of ourselves.

OUR SUSTAINABILITY MANAGEMENT
We at OTTO FUCHS consider sustainability to be our top managerial priority. Responsibility for sustainability issues therefore lies with the CEO. We have also established structures that enable us to efficiently expedite the aspects of primary importance to us and our stakeholders. The main steering body for sustainable development at OTTO FUCHS is the Sustainability Committee, which handles all the sustainability issues and the relevant management processes and responsibilities.

The committee is under the auspices of the Chief Compliance Officer, who reports directly to the CEO. The Chief Compliance Officer has overall responsibility for the overarching sustainability organization tasks such as coordination of the regular reporting process and communication with the external stakeholders.The Sustainability Committee is managed by the Head of Sustainability, who presents the issues relevant to sustainability to the internal and external stakeholders, and aligns the goals of the various departments. The Head of Sustainability is also responsible for developing the sustainability strategy, standards, and processes, and for coordinating and managing the initiatives which are jointly adopted.

Topic managers, who are members of the OTTO FUCHS Sustainability Committee, represent the areas relevant to the company like health, safety, and the environment (HSE), human resources and health management, legal and compliance, and marketing. In regular meetings, they jointly work through the sustainability issues of particular significance to the strategy, plan and launch appropriate initiatives, and monitor the progress made in the ongoing projects.