After a lifetime of dedicated service, José Antolin has been

distinguished with the Kingdom of Spain Entrepreneurial

Career Award.

The purpose of this award is to recognize the business

achievements and the example set for future generations by

a respected entrepreneur who has made his or her mark in

Spain through the creation of employment, investments and

internationalization, and who has contributed to the progress

and welfare of Spanish society as a whole.

The commitment to innovation and respect for their origins

are two of the most important cornerstones on which the

project instigated by the Antolin brothers has been built.

1936 José Antolin Toledano was born in Quintana del Pu-ente (Palencia), although he moved to Burgos at a very early age.

The 1950’s At the age of 14 he started working with his brother Avelino at the re-pair shop owned by their fa-ther, Avelino Antolin López, at Calle Salas in Burgos.

The Antolin brothers in-vented the rubber-metal joint by placing a rubber in-sert in the joint, thus pro-longing the useful life of this component. At the time, this invention solved im-portant safety problems in vehicle steering.

1959 The ANSA company was founded, dedicated to the manufacture of steering joints and vehicle suspen-sion systems.

The Antolin brothers patent-ed the rubber joint and start-ed to receive orders from the main truck manufacturers in both Spain and abroad.

1967 The first factory, Talleres Ara, S.L., was founded, dedi-cated to the manufacture of trims and accessories for auto-mobiles.

1968 In partnership with Lemförder, a leading Ger-man manufacturer of steer-ing joints, the ANSA-Lem-förder, S.A. company was set up in Burgos, of which the brothers were majority shareholders. This was the launching point for the com-pany’s product diversifica-tion strategy, which then acquired manufacturing li-censes for interior car parts, such as latches and power windows.

1969 The founder, Avelino Antolin López, dies. His sons, Avelino and José, took charge of the company.

1978 ARA Guarnecidos, S.A. was established as the direct result of the diversifi-cation of vehicle interior parts. In 1999 it changed its name to Grupo Antolin-Ara-gusa and in 2001 it moved to Monte de la Abadesa.

1979 The Pianfei Solano company was founded in Burgos in partnership with the Italian company Pianfei, the first overhead system manufacturing plant to in-clude a technological inno-vation: Glasutec. In 1999, the company changed its name to Grupo Antolin-Eurotrim.

1983 The Dapsa company was established in Septem-ber 1983 in Burgos. The man-ufacture of power windows for Talbot and Fasa Renault began in 1984.

1985 The Grupo Antolin holding was set up to man-age, coordinate and consol-idate all the activities of the various companies making up the corporation, headed by Avelino Antolin Toledano as president and José Anto-lin as vice-president.

1989 The Antolin family opt-ed for a strategy focused ex-clusively on vehicle interiors.

An intense international-ization stage began with the expansion into the world’s leading markets: initially Europe, then Amer-ica and lastly Asia.

1992 Sale of ANSA-Lem-förder to the German Group ZF to concentrate on the ve-hicle interior business.

1993 The R&D-i Department was set up in January 1993 as an essential driving force for the company’s strategy.

1995 José Antolin was ap-pointed president of Grupo

Antolin following the death of Avelino Antolin.

1996 Construction work for the new Grupo Antolin headquarters in the Gamon-al industrial estate in Burgos was completed.

1998 New corporate iden-tity to reflect a more dynam-ic, innovative and future-ori-ented company.

2000 A new growth path was opened by switching from a simple product to a modular product based on a multi-technology ap-proach.

2004 Grupo Antolin decid-ed to reinforce its growth strategy by opening its capi-tal to a consortium of five fi-nancial institutions.

2005 Grupo Antolin-Mag-nesio was set up with the aim of completing the Group’s ex-tensive experience in metal and plastics and expanding the potential for vehicle weight reduction.

2010 The new Policy and Strategy was endorsed in May 2010, which sums up the company’s strategy and values.

2011 Grupo Antolin acquired the European supplier CML In-novative Technologies, spe-cializing in vehicle lighting sys-tems, and became one of the European leaders in interior lighting for vehicles.

2012 An expansion process began in Italy with the set-ting up of a new company, Grupo Antolin-Italia, which centralizes the production activities and technical and commercial operations in that country.

2013 The Antolin family ac-quired 22.8% of the share-holding that had been owned by a group of Spanish savings banks since 2004. This operation reflects the family’s firm commitment to the Group’s future.

2014 Consolidation: Anto-lin has strengthened its po-sition as a global supplier to the point that it now occu-pies 56th place on the global ranking of top automotive suppliers. The company in-tends to further strengthen its growth in areas of expan-sion in the automotive in-dustry to continue offering a holistic management service from innovation through to delivery of the end product.

2015 Generational han-dover: The president of the company to date, José Antolin Toledano, has stepped down from his ex-ecutive position and has been appointed Honorary President after 50 years of devoted service to the company. Ernesto Antolin Arribas is the new Execu-tive President and María Helena Antolin Raybaud has taken over the position of Vice-President.

Purchase of Magna Inte-riors: Grupo Antolin has acquired Magna Interiors which makes the company one of world’s leading man-ufacturers of automotive interiors.

2016 Grupo Antolin is one of the world’s leading man-ufacturers of automotive interiors, encompassing five business units: doors, over-head systems, seating, light-ing and instrument panels. The company is a supplier to the largest car manufac-turers and is present in one out of every four vehicles produced in the world. The company has 161 plants in 26 countries, over 28,000 employees and a turnover of around €5,000M.▪

JOSÉ ANTOLIN KINGDOM OF SPAIN AWARD

INVENTION & PATENTRubber-metal join

2012 Gold Medal from the City of Burgos

2013 José Antolin awarded the Honoris Causa Doctorate by the University of Burgos. It recognizes the vital contribution to technological innovation, economic development and the internationalization of business

2010 José Antolin, Gold Medal for Merit in Work. Celestino Corbacho, Minister for Employment

and Immigration gathered the award

“There are no secrets or magical formulas for achieving success in business. What there is behind Grupo Antolin’s venture is tremendous effort by a family that has always been fully committed to its business and its region”

1997

HIGHLIGHTS TO THE COMPANY

The origin of Grupo Antolin goes back to the 1950s in a modest mechanics workshop in Burgos managed by Avelino Antolin López and his sons Avelino and José.

2016 Kingdom of Spain Entrepreneurial Career Award

1988 Ford Q1 Quality Award

1991 Recognition ceremony at the hotel Landa in Burgos 1996 VW value to the customer award

1999 Prince Felipe Prize for Business Excellence in the Internationalization

1996 The King of Spain, Juan Carlos I, inaugurated the Ford Suppliers Park and visited

our plant in Valencia, GA-IPV

2000 José Antolin and Juan Carlos Aparicio, Minister for Labor and Social Affairs

2000 The King of Spain, Juan Carlos I, visited Grupo Antolin

2005 José Montilla Aguilera, Minister for Industry, Tourism, and Trade, visited Grupo Antolin

2008 The Spanish President, José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, visited Grupo Antolin

2004 Grupo Antolin awarded the Prince Felipe Prize for Innovation Technology to its DTM Door Trim Module

2010 José Antolin received the Cristobal Gabarron Foundation International

Economics Prize

2003 Josep Piqué, Minister for Science and Technology, visited Grupo Antolin headquarters