Automaxi has been designing, developing, manufacturing and distributing carrying accessories for vehicles (roof bars, bike carriers, etc.) for nearly 50 years.
Since January 2011, Automaxi is part of Montblanc group Sweden (www.montblanc.se).

Today, 120 employees work on its production sites in St Malo (France) and Brasov (Romania).
Thanks to constant growth (an increase of more than 50% in its sales over the past four years), Automaxi is now Number 1 in France and one of the main players in Europe.

One of the specific features of Automaxi is internal control of the development and manufacturing process of its products.
The design office designs, develops and adapts the products according to changes in the market, in the cars on the road and in the requirements imposed by standards. 
Owing to mastery of numerous technologies on its production sites (cutting and bending of steel and aluminium tubes, stamping, plastic injection and extrusion, mechanical welding, painting and assembly), Automaxi produces in-house nearly 90% of the elements entering into the composition of its finished products.
This industrial organisation on a human scale, operating with the support of a quality department which is involved in all stages of manufacturing, enables Automaxi to guarantee you safe, high-quality products in compliance with the standards in force in Europe.

For the distribution of its range of products (roof bars, bike carriers, dog guards and other carrying accessories), Automaxi operates on all distribution circuits:

• Automobile manufacturers (Renault, Ford, Volkswagen, Chevrolet, Jaguar, etc.),
• Networks of automobile accessory specialists (autocenters, etc.),
• Hypermarkets and DIY superstores (GSA, GSB),
• Specialist sports stores.

Number 1 in France with a market share of 60% for roof bars and 70% for roof bike carriers, Automaxi achieves 50% of its sales in the export market.
Thanks to a network of distributors in more than 25 countries around the world (Germany, Spain, Italy, Canada, United Kingdom, Poland, Switzerland, etc.), Automaxi now ranks third in Europe and fifth in the world.

Automaxi systematically complies with the following principles for all its products:

• compliance with the vehicle,
• quick and easy fitting,
• detailed fitting instructions,
• supply of all tools necessary for fitting of the products,
• a reasonable price,
• compliance with existing safety standards.

Automaxi actively participates in the committees responsible for drafting and monitoring the standards at international level (ISO), in France (NFR) or in Germany (DIN) which define the safety requirements for all carrying accessories.
In order to comply with existing standards, the products must withstand extremely severe tests. For example, the standard concerning roof bars includes in particular three extremely severe static tests on test benches:

• FA : tearing test simulating catching in the wind
• FL : longitudinal tensile test simulating an emergency braking or rear impact situation
• FLQ : 20° longitudinal tensile test simulating taking a bend at high speed.

The tearing and/or tensile forces may reach values of up to 300 kg (four times the maximum acceptable load).

Automaxi can thus guarantee the compliance of all its products with existing standards.
To ensure this, before each product launch, the product is tested by independent laboratories in France (LNE, UTAC) and in Germany (TÜV).
In addition, Automaxi carries out regularly (for example on each new roof bar assignment), tests of the compliance of its products with standards, conducted in its own in-house laboratory which is validated and inspected regularly by the LNE and the TÜV. 
To complement these standards, Automaxi carries out endurance tests on its products on a test bench and under extreme conditions of use.
Lastly, all Automaxi products come with a three-year guarantee against all manufacturing faults.