#Zoom: AMIS, renowned for their expertise in the manufacture of forged (moulded) car parts, is looking for partners or buyers

A leading player in the manufacture of forged (moulded) parts for drive systems and gear boxes, the company Ateliers Mécaniques et Industrie Spéciales (AMIS) is working alongside changes the car and lorry markets, targeting lower CO2 emissions. Currently in receivership, the company is looking for partners or buyers in order to generate new momentum.

Created in 1974 by the group Sifcor, AMIS started out in Montluçon, specialising in the manufacture of forged (moulded) car parts. In 2002 a new site was opened in Guéret to provide increased production capacity. With more than 50 years’ experience, today AMIS is recognised for its expertise in semi-hot and cold forging, precision machining, and thermal and surface treatments.

It holds a number of quality certifications (IATF 16949, ISO 9001 and ISO 50001), which bear witness to its commitment to industrial excellence. Its two production sites, in Montluçon and Guéret, offering respectively 33 150 m² and 8 650 m² of industrial buildings, are fully owned.

In 2023, AMIS achieved turnover of 50 M€. With a workforce of 380 employees, talks are currently underway with the CSE for a restructuring plan involving 188 jobs.

A key player in the car market

AMIS designs and produces drive and steering components for car builders and equipment makers, notably Renault, Stellantis and JTEKT, which alone account for 83 % of its turnover. A leader in the manufacture of forged parts for drive systems and gear boxes, it stands out for its expertise in semi-hot and cold forging.

Its main activities lie in forging, a process that is used to produce high-resistance parts that are mechanically robust and complex, and adapted to extreme mechanical demands. Added to this expertise is its precision-machining capacity, which achieves a very strict level of tolerance thanks to grinders that provide precision of up to 6 µm. Thermal treatments, applied to modify the physical properties of parts, notably their hardness and resistance to wear and tear, as well as surface treatments aimed at improving resistance to corrosion, wear and tear and temperature, are equally at the very heart of its expertise.

Its products – forged gear -cogs, transmission parts, etc. – are used in light commercial vehicles, lorries, and in associated industrial sectors.

A changing industry

With its techniques and its products, AMIS provides support for a changing car and lorry market, for which the target is reduced CO2 emissions, in its quest to comply with the very latest requirements. The company is the European leader in its market, which makes it one of the most important players in that market

In order to keep up with the changes to the market, AMIS has therefore rolled out an ambitious diversification strategy. The company is looking at new sectors, notably micromobility (bicycles, tricycles, quadricycles), weapons, and the agricultural sector. On the cycle market, AMIS is working with Riide Components, a French start-up making parts for made-to-measure bicycles.

Having been placed into receivership on October 30 2024 by the commercial court of Lyon, its official receivers, AJ UP (Grégory Wautot) and AJ Partenaires (Didier Lapierre) have, in this context, launched a call for tenders with a deadline for offers set at January 31 2025, with a view to finding a partner or a buyer.

Par Agathe Caquineau

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