Chairman & CEO (Président-Directeur Général), Delfingen Industry S.A.
L'interview de Gérald Streit PDG de Delfingen par Marc Fiorentino
About Gérald Streit
Gérald Streit, chairman and CEO of Delfingen Industry, discussed the company's strategy and performance in several interviews during 2024 and 2025. He stated that Delfingen had grown significantly in recent years, nearly tripling revenue over four years, partly by acquiring its main German competitor to become the world leader in its segment. Streit said the company would focus on debt reduction and cash generation through 2026 before resuming external growth, particularly in industrial markets. He also noted that no single client represents more than 8% of revenue, which he described as providing the company with independence. Speaking about the automotive sector, Streit described it as a "structured" industry where not all participants will succeed. He gave the example of Geely's approach to hybrid and electric vehicles as having "a certain vision," contrasting it with other automakers he characterized as appearing "lost." Streit also discussed Delfingen's environmental initiatives, stating that as a company that has been transforming plastic for 70 years it has a responsibility to address plastic pollution. He noted the company had committed to reducing CO₂ emissions under the COP21 framework and said it had begun measuring its emissions and plastic consumption. Streit described a partnership with Plastic Odyssey to develop small-scale recycling micro-factories, calling the effort part of a "beginning of an amazing journey."
Transcript (33 segments)
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Interviewer0:07
And we continue with our interviews as part of our second Retail Day, following the enormous success of the first one, in partnership I remind you with Bourse Direct. And I'm really happy to have him today because we hear and read so many things about the automotive sector, honestly I really struggle to make sense of it all. So I need his insights. He's going to talk to us about Delfingen. Gérald Streit, you are the Chairman and CEO of Delfingen.
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Gérald Streit0:37
First of all, thank you for having me.
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Interviewer0:40
It's always a pleasure to have you. I have to say, every time we see each other, you give me a bit of a vision of the sector. And right now it seems like nobody understands anything about the automotive industry anymore — buyers, analysts, investors, and I won't even mention the media. So what is happening with the automotive sector? Can you walk us through — before we talk about the company, you're here for that too, but you're deeply embedded in this sector — what is actually going on? Is there a clear direction or not?
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Gérald Streit1:27
There is a clear direction, there are things happening. If I go back a few years to trace the trend: we were in a very incremental technological phase with vehicles. Brands competed on engine displacement, reputation, those kinds of things. Then came China's development, which set the goal of being the world leader in electric vehicles — something everyone laughed at in the early 2000s and 2010s. Except they did it. They went electric to recover their technological gains and leapfrog thermal vehicles. The major manufacturers, especially the German ones who were in China, like the Americans, extracted enormous profits from their joint ventures, thinking they'd keep selling thermal vehicles and so on. They didn't see the wave coming, even though it was announced. When the wave hit Europe, there was an acceleration of electric vehicles as manufacturers realized after the 2019 COVID crisis that the Chinese were doing exactly what they said — expelling, as we might call it, and replacing their thermal vehicles with Chinese electric vehicles. So it was full reverse, because when you derive 30 to 40% of your revenue from a market that no longer wants you, you have to strengthen on your domestic market. So in Europe, we have good news — we're going fully electric. But they realize that even with this trend, they're being pushed out of China, which is what's happening. So now they're in deep doubt.
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Interviewer3:01
So you're saying the direction is clear — stop hesitating, we're heading toward electric. You gave me a great comparison earlier, I'd like you to share it.
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Gérald Streit3:12
Yes, we're heading toward electric. It's like the transition from film photography to digital photography. There's a phase of doubt, but we're getting there. We're in an industry — mobility — with a price-to-volume ratio. Thermal vehicles have more components than electric vehicles, they are by definition more expensive to build, more complex to build. So we're heading toward electric vehicles. We're simply on the BCG learning curves, the experience curves, and they are crossing massively. So electric vehicles will be more competitive, easier to produce, and cheaper to maintain.
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Interviewer3:53
I like the analogy of going from film to digital. But in that transition, some companies disappeared — we all remember Kodak, a brand from my youth that nobody knows anymore. Does that mean some manufacturers will disappear? And you explained well that China has taken an enormous lead — is it a foregone conclusion? Are they going to crush us?
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Gérald Streit4:19
It's never a foregone conclusion, but the longer we wait, the harder it will be. I think it will really depend on the manufacturers. Some will certainly disappear, just like suppliers. The speed is such that you can't reposition at such a rapid pace. We were talking a few years ago about an automotive revolution — well, revolution means it goes very, very fast. So all the time lost is extremely hard to catch up. And revolution also means heads roll. So yes, there will be disappearances.
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Interviewer4:53
Do we still have a chance in Europe to compete with China? Or do you think if we react quickly enough, we can still get there?
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Gérald Streit5:03
I think we can react quickly and we must. I just came back from Asia — when you see the pressure from Korea and Japan, they're in an ultra-competitive environment. They're seeking alternative solutions because volume is in China on their domestic market. So we start from the basics: what is our domestic market, what are our directives, and what are Korea and Japan doing? Korea is working on competitiveness and moving toward electric. They're reorganizing their big conglomerates with battery manufacturers — Hyundai, Kia — and also everything related to software, because it's a package deal. The Japanese, as we've seen with Toyota, are trying alternative paths — in my interpretation, thinking that on electric, they're going to lose ground anyway, so let's go further with bi-fuels, renewable fuels, even hydrogen, flex-fuel hydrogen.
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Interviewer6:05
You're saying they're actually looking for a different market?
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Gérald Streit6:08
They can look for another market — that's what they teach in business school: when everyone goes to one market, try to find differentiated paths.
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Interviewer6:14
That's interesting. Coming back to Delfingen — thank you by the way, this is very important. It's your market too. So how does this environment either favor or affect you?
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Gérald Streit6:30
We've been making components to protect electrical wiring for 70 years, primarily in automotive, and we're diversifying into other equipment sectors. So we're very affected by automotive, but with a certain distance, because regardless of the vehicle equipment, you need electrical wiring, and we protect those wires. That gives us perhaps a bit more breathing room. And we've had this activity for 70 years.
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Interviewer7:00
Right. There have been quite a few questions on this. With the acceleration of vehicle electrification — let me read the question: how does Delfingen plan to adapt to these transformations, and what opportunities do you see in the development of electric and hybrid powertrains? It's your market.
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Gérald Streit7:17
Hybrid powertrains — we have both elements since we have thermal which needs all the sensors, and we have electric. So hybrid is great for us, except it's very expensive to produce and doesn't solve all the questions. On pure electric, we see technology changes coming, completely different approaches. We have the same paradigms but with one simple difference: in a classic vehicle, you have a small battery in front or behind, and then you run wires from there. In an electric vehicle, you have a big battery, so you can connect pretty much anywhere on the battery. Big change. Our products work on both technologies — the question is the evolution of the product mix and volumes.
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Interviewer7:55
And today, can you give us just a quick update on the first half?
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Gérald Streit8:00
The first half saw a decline in revenue due to two major factors. The first is European stagnation, with a lot of hesitation linked to doubts about electric vehicles. In the US, some platforms — notably Stellantis — didn't launch on time as planned, which impacted us significantly. And we continue our rationalization and refocusing phase following our growth period over the last three years.
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Interviewer8:30
What are the future growth drivers for you in the coming months and years? Is it a matter of hunkering down and waiting, as you said, for the storm to pass and the direction to become clear? You've told us the direction is clear, and thank you for that clarity. So what is your strategy in the meantime?
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Gérald Streit8:56
No, we're moving forward. We had strong growth and consolidated market share in automotive, which gives us leverage on pricing because we committed a few years ago to qualitative growth — meaning price, margin, leverage capacity. The second is our environmental and societal commitments. We shouldn't forget that the big challenge for our societies is climate change and pollution, even if we're focused on very short-term performance issues. So we're well-oriented there. On the automotive side, it's about rationalizing the portfolio and product lines — the matrix has to be profitable. So we're in this cleanup phase to diversify into other sectors that are less cyclical than automotive, in industrial and agricultural sectors.
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Interviewer9:48
Speaking of which, it's said that Delfingen's market share in industry is growing. What industrial sector outside of automotive presents major opportunities for you?
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Gérald Streit9:58
With 8 to 10 billion people on the planet, agriculture. Agricultural equipment, the automation of agricultural equipment — for me, that's a major development axis. And we're already a supplier of equipment to the agricultural industry, so it's about strengthening in those areas.
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Interviewer10:22
And you're already moving on that. Thank you, that was very clear. Let's finish with the stock market. You've always had a strategy — and your father before you — of transparency and communication with individual shareholders. That's why we're here, actually. Thank you for that. Are you going to go even further in that direction?
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Gérald Streit10:43
We keep this policy. On individual shareholders, we have shareholders who come back to every annual meeting, and some have been there since the IPO. We have a farmer from the village who would never miss it — he's been at every annual meeting since 1996. And we see that their approach is less about monetary value and more about how we do the business. They invest in the company and they stay because they like it — they like the way we approach long-term business. You could say, I don't know if we call them investors, but there's a real patrimonial approach, saying I have shares but I don't want to sell them. They're almost like non-operational associates. And they ask us questions mainly about ethics and CSR — our environmental commitments, our engagements. So we have both types of investors.
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Interviewer11:39
So you continue with this entire policy of closeness, transparency, and communication with individual shareholders?
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Gérald Streit11:48
We don't change our culture. We've always had this policy of transparency, relationship, and environmental and societal engagement.
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Interviewer11:56
It's remarkable because you do this even in difficult periods. I congratulate you — you always say exactly what the situation is. To finish, do you feel that the stock market understands your business well and values it properly? I'm sure you're going to tell me they're lost.
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Gérald Streit12:15
They're lost. If the automotive buyer is lost, the investor is lost too.
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Interviewer12:20
What would you like to say to this investor who is lost facing a valuation that you feel is at scrap value at this point?
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Gérald Streit12:32
You need to look at the verticals of the business. We're in automotive, which is a form of mobility, and different actors are involved. It's an ultra-structured industry, but not everyone will make it. Some will, and some will do well. So stop skimming over the report — take the time to work through the verticals and find other sources of information than the few gurus they put in front of us with their ideas. Try to find automotive leaders who are a bit visionary.
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Interviewer13:04
Give us the name of a visionary automotive leader.
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Gérald Streit13:06
There's the boss of Geely. When he took over Volvo, the approach at the time was diesel and petrol. He said I don't have the means to do everything, so I'll go hybrid, and I'll create a brand for electric. I think he has a certain vision of what he's doing. The BMW family has a certain day-to-day vision. And then there are others who seem lost. They managed as they were asked, but now you need to bring new direction, a real product strategy, a new breath of air — and they're searching. And they hire consultants — consultants are managers, they won't give you the vision.
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Interviewer13:50
Gérald, thank you very much. You give us a good vision. We hope the stock price will rebound and that what you've described will pan out. You'll come back to see us and we'll do regular updates. In any case, you've helped us see through the fog a bit. We'll be right back for another interview.