Concentric AB: LICOS Trucktec GmbH in a New Outfit; More Than Just a Design Change?

Regulatory News:

Concentric (STO:COIC)

LICOS launches its new company logo ahead of the IAA 2016 exhibition. The worldwide Concentric group will be exhibiting its extensive range of pumps in Hanover from 22 to 29 September 2016. The following interview was conducted with Franz Biegert, managing director of LICOS Trucktec GmbH ("LICOS” or "the Company”).

LICOS is a well-known brand in the truck industry. What was the driver to change the logo?

The company, founded in 1998 by Dr. Andreas Wolf and Karl-Heinz Linnig, was acquired by Concentric AB in 2013. Changing the logo into Concentric’s corporate colours was the final step of the successful integration of LICOS into the wider Concentric group. We´ve changed the colours but we have not changed the brand name or the products. Our name stands for high-quality and innovative products. To date we have delivered over half a million clutches into the EURO5 and EURO6 engines of Europe’s top truck brands.

The clutches save a huge amount of diesel and we have a calculation ticker on our homepage www.licostrucktec.com where you can find the total of saved litres of diesel.

Concentric AB is listed on the Swedish stock exchange and, prior to the acquisition in 2013, LICOS was just a typical German midsize company. This July you celebrated the 3rd anniversary of joining the Concentric group. What have been the major changes for the Company since 2013?

I think the changes that we have seen were not that dramatic. Yes, for sure, there is a big difference if you have to change your internal reporting system from a German family owned company into a member of an international listed group. On the other hand, LICOS already had international quality standards and customers before the change of ownership. Our customer rating has been excellent since the inception of the Company so there were no changes necessary on that side of the business.

What were the customer reactions following the change in ownership?

Our customers have been informed and were visited by our management team shortly after the shareholder change. Their reaction was generally very positive and may be best summed up by the following statement from a senior level manager at one particular customer: "The LICOS clutch is a major component for the EURO6 engine. It is good to know that the company now belongs to a bigger group with a global footprint.” In times of globalization, it is important to have local manufacturing and applications support located right next to the assembly plants of the global truck manufacturers.

What are the plans for the future of LICOS in this global truck business? Do you have new technologies or products to add to your current portfolio?

The current business of LICOS is secured by our patent protected 2 speed clutch technology, which we sell currently only to the European market. Our sales team is working hard with customers in North America and Asia to introduce the 2 speed clutch technology into these markets as soon as possible. In addition, we expect to launch the production of our double cone clutch in the near future. This clutch is our new technology for switching high torque in very limited space. The technology is developed by LICOS and is fully patent protected. All the tests to date have been positive and the customers are very interested to get this technology onto their engines as soon as possible.

Our passion is to develop products which help make the truck more efficient and the double cone clutch is another example of LICOS providing a high tech and robust solution for our customers.

Concentric AB is an innovator in flow control and fluid power, supplying proprietary systems and components to the world’s truck, construction, mining and agricultural equipment industries. The Concentric group has manufacturing facilities in the UK, USA, Germany, Sweden, India, China and Argentina.

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