Gentherm Incorporated's Business Segments

Gentherm Incorporated is a global technology and industry leader in the design, development, and manufacturing of innovative thermal management technologies and automotive cable systems. Our automotive products provide solutions for automotive passenger comfort and convenience, battery thermal management, remote power generation and other consumer and industrial temperature control needs. Our products can be found on the vehicles of nearly all major automotive manufacturers operating in North America, Europe and Asia. We operate in locations aligned with our major customers’ product strategies in order to provide locally enhanced design, integration and production capabilities and to identify future thermal technology product opportunities in both automotive and other markets. We concentrate our research on the development of new technologies that will enable new products, improve overall effectiveness of existing products and maximize customer satisfaction. We also focus on developing new design applications from our existing technologies to create new products and market opportunities for thermal comfort solutions.

The Company has two reportable segments for financial reporting purposes: Automotive and Industrial.

Automotive
The Automotive reporting segment is comprised of the aggregated results from Gentherm’s three geographic operating segments: North America, Europe and Asia. Results from our automotive seat comfort systems, specialized automotive cable systems and other automotive and non-automotive thermal convenience products are reported in the automotive segment because of their complementary focus on automotive content and/or individual comfort and convenience.

Automotive seat comfort systems include seat heaters, variable temperature Climate Control SeatsTM (“CCS”) designed to provide individualized thermal comfort to automobile passengers, and integrated electronic components, such as blowers and electronic control units. Specialized automotive cable system products include ready-made wire harnesses and related wiring products. Automotive products include the automotive steering wheel heater, heated and cooled cup holder and thermal storage bin. Revenues from our non-automotive products include the heated and cooled mattress and furniture.

Our customers include light vehicle original equipment manufacturers (“OEMs”), commercial vehicle OEMs, and Tier 1 suppliers to the automotive OEMs, including automotive seat manufacturers. Customers of our non-automotive products include companies in the telecommunications, information technology, furniture and medical equipment industries.

Industrial
The Industrial reporting segment represents the combined results from our remote power generation systems business for industrial applications and our advanced research and product development division, which is currently researching and developing new products for a variety of different markets. The advanced research and product development division is engaged in projects to improve the efficiency of thermal management technologies and to develop, market, and distribute products based on these new technologies. The operating results from our remote power generation systems business and the advanced research and product development division are presented together as one reporting segment because of their complementary focus on thermoelectric technologies and related products.

We are striving to be the world leader in thermal management technologies for application in automotive and other markets. We believe achieving this goal depends on our ability to anticipate the needs of our customers and integrate those needs into our advanced products. Our strategy includes the following key elements: Expanding the depth and breadth of our core technologies and the portfolio of products derived from these technologies; Increasing global penetration with automotive companies through an expanded array of thermal management products; Leveraging our global product development and production capabilities to streamline the delivery of services to our customers and offer enhanced local support; Improving capabilities to be a full service provider in design, development, testing and validation, and manufacturing of all required sub-system components; Utilizing in-house electronics expertise to develop next generation intelligent thermal management products; Penetrating new markets and industries by creating new innovative solutions and products such as battery thermal management, waste heat recovery, remote power generation, automotive thermal convenience, heated and cooled mattresses, and heated and cooled office furniture among others; and Continuing to expand our intellectual property portfolio.

Our research and development activities are an essential part of our efforts to develop new, innovative products and introduce them to the market. Through both internal and external research and development programs, we are working to develop a comprehensive knowledge of thermal management systems and demonstrate functionality and performance. These activities are critical to optimizing energy and production efficiencies and to improving effectiveness in our products, making them less complex, easier to package and less expensive to manufacture and install.

We perform advanced research and development on thermal management systems, including the development and testing of new materials, to achieve increased efficiency and reliability. We engineer new applications of our existing products in order to meet design criteria of a particular customer’s needs. We believe there are substantial prospects for the design and development of innovative thermal management systems in applications outside of the industries served by our current product lines.

Research and development activities are expensed as incurred. These expenses include direct expenses for wages, materials and services associated with particular engineering activities, net of reimbursements from customers and research sponsors. Any related reimbursements for costs, whether for advanced research or a specific product application, are accounted for as a reduction of research and development expense.

Seat Comfort
Climate Control Seats
Our CCS products utilize exclusive patented technology to regulate temperature and enhance the comfort of vehicle passengers. The most advanced CCS models use one or more TEDs to generate heating or cooling depending upon the direction of the current applied to the device.
A TED is the heart of a compact heat pump used in our active CCS products. Air is forced through the heat pump and thermally conditioned in response to electronic switch input from the seat occupant. The conditioned air circulates by one of our specially designed air moving devices through a proprietary air distribution system installed in the seat cushion and seat back, so that the seat surface can be heated or cooled. Each seat has individual electronic controls to adjust the level of heating or cooling. Active CCS products substantially improve comfort compared with conventional air conditioners by focusing cooling directly on the passenger through the seat rather than waiting until ambient air cools the seat surface beneath the passenger. A heated and ventilated only variant of the CCS utilizes ambient cabin air to provide cooling comfort instead of a TED to actively cool the seat. In the heating mode, the vent only system is supplemented with resistive heating elements.

Heated and ventilated CCS products have a lower price and have versatile cooling capability targeted for certain lower cost vehicle models, geographical markets and customers who prefer the heated and ventilated product. By offering different models of the CCS product, our customers have the opportunity to purchase a wider range of climate control products at different price points.

Since each vehicle model’s seats are different, we must tailor the CCS components to match each seat design. Since we first developed the CCS in the late 1990’s, we have supplied prototype seats containing our CCS product to virtually every major automobile manufacturer and seat supplier. If a manufacturer wishes to integrate our CCS product into a seat, it provides us with automotive seats to be modified so that we can install a unit in a prototype. The seat is then returned to the manufacturer for evaluation and testing. If a manufacturer accepts our CCS product, a program can then be launched for a particular model on a production basis, but it normally takes two to three years from the time a manufacturer decides to include our CCS product in a vehicle model to actual volume production for that vehicle. During this process, we derive funding from prototype sales but obtain no significant revenue until mass production begins.

Heated Seats
Heated seats, based on our resistive heater core technology, are seamlessly integrated into automotive seat designs, and are constructed using materials that offer the best capacity, installation characteristics and durability. Our capabilities allow customers to choose among a variety of resistive heater materials based on their individual vehicle specifications. Sales of heated seat products contributed 32%, 37% and 43% to our total product revenues for the twelve-month period ending December 31, 2015, 2014 and 2013, respectively. Our heated seat revenue has grown in absolute dollars during each of the last three years but is declining as a percent of our overall product revenue as more customers choose to install CCS systems in their vehicles.
Battery Thermal Management (“BTM”)

Thermal management is critically important for the long-term operation of advanced automotive batteries. The expansion of electrified vehicle applications, such as 48V electrical networks, start-stop systems, regenerative braking systems and other micro-hybrid battery implementations, have drastically increased the demand for BTM systems solutions which enable wider operating temperature ranges, enhanced driving range and prolonged life of the battery. Gentherm’s BTM system can provide precision battery cooling on pack or cell-level using patented TED technology. The BTM system maintains the temperature of the lithium-ion battery or other advanced chemistry battery within an acceptable temperature range without the use of chilled liquids or refrigerant loops, making it a light weight, highly scalable, compact solution ideal for automotive applications. Gentherm’s proprietary BTM system is compact and energy efficient, resulting in a minimal energy budget for an electrified vehicle. The performance improvements realized with this product have been validated through the award of production BTM systems by two flagship OEMs. We are currently working with other OEMs in an effort to secure more production contracts.

Remote Power Generation
Gentherm is the world’s leading provider of remote electric power generation systems, primarily serving large upstream and midstream oil and gas markets. Using our unique industrial TEG technologies, our generation systems deliver ultra-reliable power for long-term unattended operation in geographically remote applications that are critical to our customers’ operations, such as wellhead automation, valve automation and cathodic protection of pipelines. We design and produce turnkey systems that are highly customized for application, load, power and fuel source, and location requirements. Other applications for our remote power generation systems include mobile telecommunications, security and surveillance and scientific monitoring. Revenues from the sale of remote power generation systems are reported within the industrial segment. Our revenues from this product include large custom systems projects ranging from $200,000 to over $2,000,000. While this revenue is generally growing, quarterly results can vary significantly due to delivery timing of these custom systems to customers.

Thermal Convenience
Heated and Cooled Cup Holder
The heated and cooled cup holder applies Gentherm’s patented TED technologies to keep beverages of automobile drivers and passengers either warm or cool. We have developed a range of cup holder models with varying degrees of functionality, designed to be packaged in multiple configurations to accommodate different console environments. Our dual independent design provides separate temperature settings in each holder allowing the driver and passenger to individually maintain a heated or cooled beverage. Over the past year we have improved the technology in this product resulting in reduced noise and power consumption and improved heating and cooling. The heated and cooled cupholder will launch on several new vehicle platforms during the next three years.

Thermal Storage Bin
Gentherm’s newest thermal convenience product is our thermal storage bin designed for food or beverage cooling for the global automotive market. Using patented TED and other key technologies, the thermal storage bin provides temperature control independently from a vehicle’s heating and air conditioning system. The thermal storage bin can be custom designed to accommodate tight interior spaces and provide additional cooling capacity to those who have long work commutes or transport multiple passengers. The thermal storage bin is available in the front floor console of several large SUV vehicles produced by a major North American Automotive manufacturer. We are currently working with other automotive manufactures to develop and integrate thermal storage bins in their vehicles.

Interior Comfort

Heated Steering Wheel
Heated steering wheels deliver heating comfort to automobile drivers through resistive wire elements, similar to those used in our seat heater products. This product can be applied to both leather and wood steering wheels. A solution for drivers in cold and mild weather climates, the heated steering wheel is designed for the global automotive market.

Heated Door and Armrest
Gentherm’s thermally conductive door panel armrest and center console armrest are powered by technologies used in our advanced seat heating products. The system is thermally managed by a heating control system which can be discreetly located in the door panel or seat of the vehicle. Heated door panels and armrests are a perfect complement to our climate controlled seat and steering wheel products and provide a superior level of thermal comfort to the driving experience.

Heated and Cooled Mattress
Our heated and cooled mattress incorporates our proprietary Climate Control Sleep System™ (“CCSS”) technology. The CCSS represents an adaptation of the TED technology in our active CCS system. The CCSS directs warmed or cooled air to the surface of a mattress through our proprietary air distribution system. Two independently controlled temperature zones have their own heat or cool settings for a personalized microclimate sleep environment. There are five available settings in each of the heat and cool modes as well as an ambient setting. The sleep system uses a Master Control Unit or hand-held remote controls.