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.
6.67%