Merger of HELLA and Faurecia - Project ONE

Within the framework of legal requirements, initial preparations for the merger of HELLA and Faurecia have begun. Now the Chief Integration Officers, Dr. Christopher Mokwa and David Schajer, have spoken about Project ONE in a video interview

At present, HELLA and Faurecia are still two independent companies. Nevertheless, within the limits of what is legally possible, recently the first preparations for the forthcoming combination have begun. On HELLA's side, the corresponding activities are coordinated by Dr. Christopher Mokwa, who is responsible for corporate strategy, M&A and digitalization. His counterpart as Chief Integration Officer at Faurecia is David Schajer.  

"Project ONE", as the integration project has been named, stands for creating one joint company with one mission and one team, says Dr. Christopher Mokwa. "This is now the task that we have to tackling jointly over the next weeks and months." However, he said it's also important to focus on the essentials first: preparing for Day One after closing, or "Day One Readiness," as well as the plan for the first 100 days after the transaction closes. This is subject to various regulatory reviews globally and is currently expected in early 2022.  

David Schajer describes the main guiding principles of integration with three catchwords: pragmatic, open, together. Pragmaic, because the strategies of both companies do not have to be reinvented. Open because integration offers the opportunity to build a stronger company. And finally together, because in the integration project the two companies are now learning how to work together and are starting to build a common culture.  

In order to prepare for the combination of the two companies and to define the optimal setup, three types of workstreams have been established in addition to the Integration Committee with equal representation: dedicated workstreams for specific cross-cutting issues, for example for "Day One Readiness", workstreams for preparing the business units (e.g. Lighting, Electronics, Lifecycle Value Management), and workstreams for the activities in the central functions. The regions are also closely involved in this process. In view of the complexity of the project, the integration will certainly be challenging, says Christopher Mokwa, especially as both companies currently have to take operational challenges in the wake of the global component crisis into account. Nevertheless, it will also be a time of shaping, "which can offer promising opportunities for HELLA and its employees." 

David Schajer emphasizes that the main priority is to keep the business running. At the same time, the integration teams ensure the relevant arrangements are in place for the day of the closing. "Then in 2022, we can hit the ground running together."