Altensteig. In the 2013 financial year, the Boysen Group exceeded the one billion Euro mark for turnover - and at the same time is investing massively in expanding its sites. Following the plant in Achim near Bremen a few weeks ago, in the coming months three more new production plants will start series production of complete exhaust systems for the global launch of the new Mercedes Benz C Class.
The exhaust technology specialist, based at Altensteig in Baden-Württemberg, is continuing its uninterrupted upward trend. The figures presented by CEO Rolf Geisel show a turnover of 1.02 billion Euro for 2013. This is a rise of around five percent on the previous year. At the end of the last financial year, the number of employees was 2,200 compared to 1,980 in 2012. The biggest upswing was in investment, due to the company's site growth. The figure was 125 million Euro, up almost 50 percent on the previous year's level.
The Boysen Group becomes a turnover billionaire. "It's something we wouldn't have even dared to dream about 20 years ago", recalls the CEO, looking back to 1993 when the company posted a turnover of 57 million Euro at the end of the year. Since then, under the leadership of Geisel - who has been CEO since 1985 - Boysen has been a success story almost unprecedented in the supplier sector.
Nevertheless, the CEO makes it clear that 2013 was "an extremely tough year" for the group of companies. Development in Boysen's relatively new business area of commercial vehicles was down on expectations. In the automotive sector, turnover with two customers was also below the forecast figures. "We also had a lot of up-front expenses for new projects. All in all, profits were slightly lower than the previous year. However, looking at the general conditions in the industry we still believe our results are satisfactory", said Geisel.
The CEO thinks the fact that the company is actually able to make such huge investments is a key indicator of "our good and solid position in the supplier sector, which is characterised by massive cost pressure and stringent quality requirements". The same applies to the continuous increase in headcount: "Unlike some of our competitors, Boysen has never had to cut jobs in the last 30 years to remain economically competitive. On the contrary, the number of employees is increasing steadily. This will continue in the coming years." The 57-year old is referring here to the huge growth in the group of companies from 10 to 17 sites within the previous eighteen months.
The four new production plants in Achim near Bremen, Tuscaloosa (USA), East London (South Africa) and Langfang (China) have all been completed on schedule. They all owe their existence to the biggest contract in company history to date. As a system partner to Mercedes Benz, Boysen produces and supplies the exhaust systems for all models based on the modular "Mercedes Rear Wheel Drive Architecture" (MRA) platform. The first is the current new C Class. In the future, there will be other vehicles built on the MRA platform such as the GLK and the E Class.
Regardless of the significant international differences in standards and wage costs, the structure of the new Boysen plants and the high-quality automated processes used in the just-in-sequence production are totally identical on all four continents. Geisel says: "Exhaust systems are technologically extremely sophisticated and car manufacturers' multi-model platforms allow no room for errors. If we were to vary our production in different countries, we would be unable to maintain our quality level and we'd quickly be replaced." This attitude met with equal measures of amazement and recognition in some countries. "A fully automated high bay warehouse is pretty much unique in China or South Africa, for example."
The fifth new production site, which is currently being build in Kösching near Ingolstadt and will produce the exhaust technology for the new Audi A4 from 2015, will naturally follow the same requirements profile. In May, the Boysen Innovation Centre Nagold (BIN) will be ready for occupation and will be the second major development site alongside the company headquarters, just 15 kilometres away in Altensteig. As in Altensteig, according to Geisel Boysen is using state of the art testing facilities in Nagold, which will include a roller dynamometer and an engine test rig specially developed for commercial vehicles by 2015. The Boysen Group's site growth is rounded off by its majority shareholding inn MHG Fahrzeugtechnik GmbH at Heubach in Swabia, which produces small series and prototype parts in the exhaust area and is in demand as a partner to various Formula 1 racing teams.
Looking at the different major construction sites, Rolf Geisel talks about a "unique but difficult 2013, which demanded huge efforts by many of the company's employees". It is important not to forget that Boysen has also pushed ahead with expansion of its existing sites over the past year. As examples, the CEO cited the recent extension of the Turmfeld production plant in Altensteig, the installation of a new production line for the exhaust technology on the Porsche Macan at the Plauen plant and the new just-in-sequence production of complete exhaust systems for the BMW X5 at the US plant in Gaffney.
With the high investments in the previous year creating a "strong foundation", the start-up of the new plants will have an impact on the balance sheet this year. Rolf Geisel expects turnover to increase to 1.2 billion Euro in 2014 - "with slightly increased earnings and estimated investments of 80 million Euro". Linked to this is the planned increase in the number of employees to 2,500 in the Boysen Group as a whole.
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The Boysen Group develops and produces manifolds, diesel particulate filters, silencers, trims and complete exhaust systems for cars, commercial vehicles and off-highway applications. In addition to its three main customers Audi, BMW and Daimler, the exhaust technology specialist works for the German car manufacturers Volkswagen and Porsche, the British manufacturers Bentley and Rolls Royce, the commercial vehicle manufacturers MAN and Daimler, and for Krauss Mafffei, mtu, Voith and others in the off-highway sector.
The Boysen Group currently employs around 2,200 people at 17 domestic and international sites. In addition to the development sites in Altensteig and Nagold, Boysen has production sites in Altensteig, Simmersfeld, Salching, Ingolstadt, Plauen and Achim, and also in France, Egypt, India, China and the USA.
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In case of any queries, please contact:
Christian Grimm
Marketing Team Leader
BIN Boysen Innovationszentrum Nagold GmbH & Co. KG
Lise-Meitner-Straße 21
72202 Nagold
Tel. 07452/83988-20
Fax 07452/83988-99
E-mail christian.grimm(at)bin.boysen-online.de
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