Semcon continues to streamline its business and sells Propeller

Semcon continues to streamline its business and sells Propeller

Semcon is streamlining its portfolio and selling Propeller by Semcon to the
design group Design Communication. The sale includes the company plus 36
employees and the Propeller name.

Semcon bought propeller at the beginning of 2005. The aim at the time was to
make Semcon one of the leading European players in design.

“The situation is different now. We have major, specialised design expertise in
a number of prioritised areas, something that has been further underpinned by
the acquisition of IVM Automotive. The Propeller business has not focused on any
specific segment and their customer base has mainly been outside Semcon's focus
industries with their services mainly aimed at consumer products. Propeller
hasn't provided any synergy effects either that we'd hoped for when the company
was bought,” says Semcon's CEO, Henrik Sund. 

To provide the best future conditions for Propeller's expertise and its
business, Semcon has chosen to sell it to Design Communication, which has its
main business in Göteborg. 

“We have worked with Design Communication's subsidiary Cliff for some time and
they have the right conditions to make the most of and develop Propeller's
portfolio. The customer projects that Semcon has with Propeller as a supplier
will continue according to plan,” concludes Sund. 

“Cliff started setting up in Stockholm last autumn. With the acquisition of
Propeller we can achieve our goal of being the biggest design company in the
Nordic region, more quickly,” says Johan Andinsson, CEO of Design
Communications' subsidiary Cliff Design. “We are looking forward to a happy
working relationship with Semcon in Sweden and internationally.”  

The sale means a capital loss for Semcon of about SEK 2 million in the Design &
Development business area. The sale is effective from 1 April 2007. Propeller's
sales in 2006 were SEK 23.2 million. 




For more information, please contact:  
Henrik Sund, CEO Semcon, tel +46 (0) 705 78 30 03


Semcon is 2750 committed people with a passion for product development,
technical information and IT. Today Semcon is active in Sweden, Australia,
Brazil, China, Germany, Hungary, Malaysia, Norway and the UK and via partners in
Belgium, France, Portugal and Spain. Semcon had pro forma sales of around EUR
267 million in 2006 and it is listed on the Stockholm Stock Exchange's Nordic
list.