Bühler AG

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Bühler Holding AG

logo
legal form Corporation
founding February 10, 1860
Seat Uzwil , Switzerland
management Stefan Scheiber
( CEO )

Calvin Grieder
( Chairman of the Board of Directors )

Number of employees 13'165
sales 3.27 billion CHF
Branch Plant construction
Website www.buhlergroup.com
Status: 2018

The Buhler Holding AG based in Uzwil is an internationally active Swiss technology group. The family company owned by the Bühler family holds leading market positions worldwide in technology and in processes for grain processing for flour and animal feed, but also for the production of pasta and chocolate, in die casting, wet grinding and surface coating. The company's core technologies are in the field of mechanical and thermal process engineering.

The Bühler Group, which is active in over 140 countries, had 13,165 employees as of December 31, 2018, around 2500 of them in Uzwil; Bühler is also training around 600 apprentices in Switzerland, Germany, Austria, China, India, Brazil, the USA, and South Africa. The company generated sales of CHF 3.27 billion in 2018 with a net profit of CHF 188 million. In 2016, 4.4 percent of sales were invested in research and development. Hermann Simon mentioned Bühler AG as an example of a " hidden champion " in his book of the same name.

history

Iron foundry Adolf Bühler, Uzwil, approx. 1860
Bühler's main plant in Uzwil, after 1918, before 1927 (Photo: Walter Mittelholzer )
Bühler's main plant in Uzwil, 2010
“Customer Center”, Uzwil

Foundation and expansion

The Bühler Group was created on February 10, 1860 by Adolf Bühler senior, who lived and grew up in Hombrechtikon . opened iron foundry in Gupfen with two employees.

A mechanical workshop was added in 1871 and a year later the first cast rolls that produced for roll mills . In 1875 an in-house health insurance was introduced. Adolf Bühler's interest in mechanical engineering meant that Bühler not only cast rollers, but also built roller mills and entire mills over time. The first grain mill to be built entirely by Bühler was delivered around 1890. The first subsidiary was founded in Paris in 1891 , followed by one in Milan in 1900, followed by a Naples two years later , while a sales office was opened in Barcelona in 1896. In 1896 Adolf Bühler sen. the management to Adolf Bühler jun. further and after Bühler originally focused on the textile industry, in which it manufactured components for textile machines, Bühler switched to the construction of grain mills and sold these products on the international market. In addition, machines for pasta and beer production were added after the turn of the century. The architects Pflegehard and Haefeli reorganized the entire company complex for Adolf Bühler from 1898 to 1912.

Until World War II

In 1900 Bühler had 717 factory workers and 72 salaried employees. In 1920 there were 1,400 employees. During the First World War , Bühler manufactured 88 Argus AS-II aircraft engines from 1915 to 1917 under license from Deutsche Motorengesellschaft Berlin, which were used in Wild W-1 and Wild WT school aircraft and in Häfeli DH-1 to DH-3 - Airplanes of the Swiss Army were installed.

In 1918, Bühler opened a factory canteen, the first in Switzerland to be operated by a service company. Else Züblin-Spiller from the non-profit organization Swiss Association of Soldiers' Welfare was commissioned to do this. In 1927, on the occasion of the expansion and electrification of the St. Gallen – Winterthur railway line, an industrial track was laid from the Uzwil station to the company building.

Die- casting technology was developed in the USA in 1920, but the machines there did not meet Bühler's requirements, so that their own die-casting machines were developed and built. A corresponding department was established for this in 1927. The current business area in the sale of cold chamber die casting machines had this background.

post war period

In 1934 René Bühler , the son of Adolf Bühler junior, was accepted into the management, who also founded the Swiss Milling School in 1957 and was a member of the National Council ( FDP ) from 1951 to 1959 . He was a board member from 1967 to 1985 and chairman of the company from 1977 to 1985.

In 1956, the Bühler subsidiary household machines AG was closed. Among other things, she produced vacuum cleaners. In addition, from 1907 until the early 1960s, Bühler produced machines for newspaper printing.

The computer was Buhler with a 1965 IBM 360/40 introduced system.

In 1970 there were 5470 employees, 3630 of them in Switzerland and 380 apprentices.

Takeover of MIAG in 1972

In 1972, Bühler took over the Braunschweig company MIAG Mühlenbau und Industrie AG . After the takeover, the Braunschweig branch was called Bühler-MIAG GmbH. In 1983, the vehicle production of Bühler-MIAG GmbH became independent as "MIAG Fahrzeugbau GmbH", today it produces industrial trucks. Until then, crane systems were built by Bühler-MIAG. After a change in the company's mission statement in 1989, the addition "MIAG" was removed and the Braunschweig branch is now called "Bühler GmbH". The cement plants and mixed-bed technology divisions of Bühler-MIAG GmbH were taken over by Orenstein & Koppel , which today belong to ThyssenKrupp , in 1981 and 1984 respectively .

Bühler today

The company entered China in 1981 with the sale of a grain processing plant. The first office followed three years later.

In 1986 René Bühler's son, Urs Bühler, became the company's managing director, after having been a member of the company's board of directors in 1981 and taking over its presidency in 1994. In 2001 he handed over the management of the business (CEO) to Calvin Grieder, who was in office for around 15 years. Since June 2016, the management has been with Stefan Scheiber, the former CEO of the Grains and Food division.

Logo of the Haas Group
Logo of the Haas Group, takeover by Bühler in 2017

In 1986 the company Richard Frisse from Bad Salzuflen was taken over, in 1993 the company Sortex from London, which offers color sorters , and in 2010 the company Schmidt-Seeger in Beilngries . In 2010 the machine factory GW Barth was added, which offers roasting systems for cocoa, nuts and malt, and in 2012 the company Leybold Optics was acquired and incorporated into the Advanced Materials division. In September 2017 it was announced that the Haas Group will become part of Bühler AG.

Corporate structure

The business activities of the Bühler Group are divided into the two areas of Grains and Food and Advanced Materials .

Grains and Food

Roller mill «Antares»
Bühler Uzwil assembly hall

The Grains and Food division contributed almost 80% to Group sales in 2016 and comprises the following business areas:

  • Grain Milling: Includes process technologies and engineering for the processing of wheat, corn, rye, oats, barley, millet / sorghum, buckwheat, soy and systems for breweries and bakeries. Globally, around 65% of the grain is ground and processed using Bühler machines. The Grain Milling division generated total sales of CHF 781 million in 2016, which corresponds to 32% of Group sales.
  • Value Nutrition: Comprises solutions for the production of food and animal feed - from pasta and noodles, cereals and snacks to pet food to fish, cattle and poultry feed. Around 40% of global pasta production runs on Bühler machines, 35% for cereals and 20% for animal feed. In 2016, the Value Nutrition division contributed around 18% to Group sales with total sales of CHF 434 million.
  • Sortex & Rice: Includes technologies for processing rice, grains, legumes, sesame seeds and spices. Bühler assumes a leading position worldwide in rice processing: Around a third of all rice production is processed worldwide using Bühler machines. The optical sorting of the Sortex technology can capture up to 20 million rice grains per minute and check them for discoloration and damage. Sortex & Rice generated total sales of CHF 217 million in 2016, which corresponds to a share of 9% of group sales.
  • Grain Logistics: This business area comprises storage solutions, machines and components along the entire food value chain: from harvest to processing. Bühler is the global leader in rice processing machines and systems. Over a third of global cereal production and two thirds of global chocolate production is processed on Bühler equipment. The company is also the world's leading provider of individually tailored solutions for malting systems. In 2016, Grain Logistics generated total sales of CHF 206 million, which corresponds to 8% of group sales.
  • Consumer Foods: This division focuses on technologies for the confectionery industry, in particular chocolate production. With a market share of 60%, Bühler makes a significant contribution to the production of cocoa, chocolate, coffee and nuts. In 2016, this business area contributed 10% to Group sales with total sales of CHF 236 million.

Advanced Materials

The Advanced Materials division contributes 20% to consolidated sales and comprises the following business areas:

  • Die Casting: Bühler is a specialist in the die-casting technology of light metal alloys such as aluminum and magnesium and supplies solutions for the aircraft industry, automotive engineering and the design of electronic components. Half of all new automobiles worldwide have die-cast parts that were manufactured with Bühler technology. The Die Casting division generated total sales of CHF 298 million in 2016, which corresponds to a share of group sales of 12%.
  • Grinding & Dispersion: This division specializes in systems and solutions for the production of paints, printed products, agrochemicals, solar modules and batteries for electric cars. Around 60% of all offset inks worldwide are produced with Bühler technologies (page 39). In 2016, Grinding & Dispersion generated total sales of CHF 88 million, accounting for 4% of consolidated sales.
  • Leybold Optics : This division focuses on vacuum coating systems for the optimization of energy efficiency, convenience and food preservation - from functional coatings for window panes to coatings for headlight reflectors and flexible packaging or coatings for products from the field of eyeglass and precision optics. In 2016, Leybold Optics generated total sales of CHF 151 million, which corresponds to 6% of group sales.

Haas Group

The Bühler Food Equipment division consists of the following business areas:

  • Wafer & CFT (Convenience Food and Cones)
  • Biscuits
  • Mixing Systems
  • non food

Factory track

Bühler factory railway
Route length: 1.3 km
Gauge : 1435 mm ( standard gauge )
Maximum slope : 55  ‰
Minimum radius : 90 m
Dual track : No
Legend
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factory 532  m above sea level M.
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Container terminal 529  m above sea level M.
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Bahnhofstrasse
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Neudorfstrasse
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Star Road
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SBB route to Wil
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100.94 Uzwil 564  m above sea level M.
BSicon .svgBSicon STR.svg
SBB route to St. Gallen

Bühler AG maintained a works railway from 1927 to 2017 , the associated siding branches off from Uzwil station and leads to the company premises. Since it has an average gradient of 35 per mille, it is considered to be remarkable in terms of traction : the station is located at an altitude of 567  m above sea level. M. , the company premises at around 534 m , the straight line between the two end points is 500 meters. The track is 1.3 km long, the greatest gradient is 55 per thousand and the smallest curve radius 90 meters.

Before the construction of the works railway, the transport was done by horse-drawn vehicles. In 1906 the idea of ​​a factory railway came up. Hermann Sommer designed one in 1914. This took into account the unfavorable topography and roughly followed today's course. The upcoming double - track expansion of the standard-gauge railway line St. Gallen-Winterthur (completion Schwarzenbach-Uzwil in 1927 and Uzwil-Flawil in 1931) made an early solution necessary. The gradient was particularly problematic. In 1922, for example, a meter-gauge freight railway with roller bolster operation was proposed, but this was rejected. The last problems could be solved through the use of run-up curves and thus in 1927 the normal-gauge «Bühlerbahn» or «Bühlerbähnli» could be opened.

When it opened in the summer of 1927, the tractor ordered from SLM was not yet available. A Breuer locomotor bridged the waiting time, but this proved to be insufficient: Due to the incline of the failing brakes, it derailed at high speed on September 1, 1927 and the following DR freight car of the type Omn destroyed the tractor. The SLM tractor Tm 2/2 GBU 1 (SLM serial number 3221, GBU stands for Gebürder Bühler, Uzwil ) with an output of 100 hp and a weight of 23.6 tons then took over until the siding was completely renovated 1978 the traction, in 1967 the mileage was 242,000 km. It was canceled in 1983 in Schwarzenbach . The tractor was followed by the last factory locomotive, a Henschel DHG 300 B (serial number 31988) delivered in 1978 . It was later named Tm 237 915-4. In 1988 the Henschel was retrofitted with a radio remote control, in 2009 it was completely overhauled. In 2005 a container terminal for loading the wagons was completed.

In 1985, two standard cars I were promoted to the Bühler site at a conference . As of 2017, the train traveled to Uzwil station about 200 times a year and transported 2,500 to 3,000 tons of material annually. In April 2017, the closure of the factory railway was announced in mid-2017. "Improvements in logistics" made it unnecessary, since then transport has been carried out on the road. The locomotive was sold to Kibag in 2018 and has operated since then as 98 85 5237 915-4 CH-KKS.

Others

The Bettenauer Weiher belonged 1927-2018 to Bühler AG or standing in the property of the family Buhler Uze AG. In 2018, the municipality of Oberuzwil took over the Bettenauerweiher from Uze AG through an exchange agreement.

Web links

Commons : Bühler AG  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d Bühler AG (Ed.): Annual Report 2018 . Uzwil 2017 ( buhlergroup.com [PDF; accessed on September 5, 2019]).
  2. ↑ Entry of Bühler Holding AG in the commercial register of the canton of St. Gallen ( memento of the original dated December 16, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / sg.powernet.ch
  3. ↑ About Bühler - BUHLERGROUP.com. Retrieved February 24, 2017 .
  4. ↑ NZZ: Uzwil is “Bühler Land” , August 2, 2018
  5. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k Bühler AG (Ed.): Annual Report 2016 . Uzwil 2017 ( buhlergroup.com [PDF; accessed on May 1, 2017]).
  6. ↑ Hermann Simon: Hidden Champions of the 21st Century: The Success Strategies of Unknown World Market Leaders . Campus, Frankfurt am Main 2007, ISBN 978-3-593-38380-4 . P. 23.
  7. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k Company history (Flash)
  8. ↑ Customer magazine 'Diagram', issue 136: New touches for the tried and tested, page 47
  9. ↑ Customer magazine 'Diagram', issue 143: In the service of world food, p. 4
  10. ^ Pflegehard & Haefeli: Buildings for the Bühler brothers in Uzwil
  11. ↑ Customer magazine 'Diagram', Issue 155: 17,912 grain milling machines, page 42 (PDF; 3 MB), accessed on January 9, 2012
  12. ↑ Swiss Air Force: Military IDs of the aircraft . Civil protection and sport VBS. May 22, 2019 ( online ).
  13. ↑ St. Galler Tagblatt dated October 27, 2015: When Bühler built aircraft engines
  14. ↑ Swiss radio and television : 1938 in the factory canteen , accessed on September 16, 2014
  15. ↑ Customer magazine 'Diagram', issue 141: Slim and powerful, page 5
  16. ↑ St. Galler Tagblatt dated June 14, 2007: Milling Technical School celebrates anniversary , accessed on January 9, 2012
  17. ↑ St. Galler Tagblatt dated June 15, 2010: Bühler vacuum cleaner for the wedding , accessed on January 9, 2012
  18. ↑ MIAG vehicle construction: company history
  19. ↑ http://www.baumaschinenbilder.de/forum/thread.php?postid=317289
  20. ↑ Customer magazine 'Diagram', Issue 155: 150 years of dynamic development, page 18 (PDF; 3 MB), accessed on January 9, 2012
  21. ↑ a b Board of Directors , at www.buhlergroup.com
  22. ↑ Bühler AG, press release: Acquisition of Leybold Optics approved , accessed on June 9, 2012
  23. ↑ STANDARD Verlagsgesellschaft mbH: Swiss Bühler Group buys wafer machine manufacturer Haas . In: derStandard.at . ( derstandard.at [accessed on September 12, 2017]).
  24. ↑ Business Areas , buhlergroup.com, accessed on October 31, 2016
  25. ↑ Bühler AG: Annual Report 2014 , buhlergroup.com, accessed on October 31, 2016 (PDF; 11.6 MB)
  26. ^ Grain Milling Business Area. Bühler AG, accessed on February 27, 2017 .
  27. ↑ Value Nutrition business area. Bühler AG, accessed on February 27, 2017 .
  28. ↑ Sortex & Rice business area. Bühler AG, accessed on February 27, 2017 .
  29. ^ Business Area Grain Logistics. Bühler AG, accessed on February 27, 2017 .
  30. ^ Business Area Grain Logistics. Bühler AG, accessed on February 27, 2017 .
  31. ↑ Consumer Foods Business Area. Bühler AG, accessed on February 27, 2017 .
  32. ↑ Die- cast. Bühler AG, accessed on February 27, 2017 .
  33. ↑ Business Area Grinding & Dispersion. Bühler AG, accessed on February 27, 2017 .
  34. ^ Business Area Leybold Optics. Bühler AG, accessed on February 27, 2017 .
  35. ↑ http://www.buhlergroup.com/global/de/ueber-buehler/business-areas.htm
  36. ^ A b Anton Heer: Rorschach - St. Gallen-Winterthur: between 170 years of railway history and the future . Sabon-Verlag GmbH, St. Gallen 2006, ISBN 978-3-907928-55-4 ( PDF )
  37. ↑ a b c d e f Anton Heer: The Bühler factory railway in Uzwil (SG) . In: Christian Zellweger (Ed.): Semaphor . Summer 2016, No. 48 . Semaphor GmbH, Bern 2016, p. 36-44 .
  38. ↑ a b Andrea Häusler: Thrown from the track. In: Wiler Zeitung . August 13, 2016. Retrieved March 28, 2017 .
  39. ^ A b Angelika Hardegger: Via Bühlerbahn to South Africa. In: Wiler Zeitung. October 4, 2014, accessed March 28, 2017 .
  40. ↑ a b c Urs Bänziger: “Bühlerbähnli” before the last trip. In: Wiler Zeitung. April 25, 2017. Retrieved May 1, 2017 .
  41. ↑ a b Shunting diesel: vehicle portrait
  42. ↑ Mirjam Trunz: No nostalgia train at Bühler. (No longer available online.) In: Wiler Zeitung. October 10, 2006, archived from the original on April 16, 2018 ; accessed on March 29, 2017 .
  43. ↑ Protection ordinance of the municipality of Oberuzwil, August 17, 1992, page 7  ( page can no longer be accessed , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.@1@ 2Template: dead link / secure.i-web.ch  
  44. ↑ «Betti» is now owned by the municipality ( memento of the original from July 26th, 2018 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Bulletin of the municipality of Oberuzwil, edition 13/2018, page 2 @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.oberuzwil.ch

Coordinates: 47 ° 26 '23 "  N , 9 ° 8' 21"  E ; CH1903:  seven hundred twenty-eight thousand two hundred fifty-eight  /  255719