Novares

Novares is a global supplier of plastic components for the automotive industry.

Founded in 1955, Novares, formerly Mecaplast, designs and manufactures complex plastic components for passenger vehicles, including interiors, exteriors and engine parts.

Novares has established a strong global presence, with operations in 22 countries and 37 production facilities across Europe, Asia and the Americas, and employs close to 10,000 people. The group maintains its market-leading position by investing significantly in research and development at its twelve technical centres, and it also benefits from the trend of substituting metal for lightweight plastic parts.

The group’s customers include many leading car manufacturers, such as Stellantis, Ford, Toyota, GM, Renault-Nissan, VW and BMW.

VALUE CREATION

During Equistone’s investment period, Novares completed three add-on acquisitions:

In 2016, Mecaplast acquired its US competitor, Key Plastics. Following the merger, the group rebranded as Novares and became a global leader in automotive plastics components.
In 2017, Novares completed the acquisition of Portuguese technical plastics manufacturer Arouplás Plásticos Técnicos.
In 2019, further expansion in the US was achieved through the acquisition of Miniature Precision Components (MPC).

In 2020, Equistone worked alongside the management team to navigate the significant disruption caused during the Covid pandemic while production was halted across Europe, the US and China. This included a capital injection, raising new loans and agreeing on a debt restructuring plan. Furthermore, Equistone worked with the management team on performance improvement and cash management initiatives to improve the group’s positioning and growth in its market.