BPW Bergische Axles

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BPW Bergische Axes KG

logo
legal form KG
founding July 15, 1898
Seat Wiehl , GermanyGermanyGermany 
management Michael Pfeiffer,
Jan Achim Kotz,
Markus Schell
Number of employees 6929 (worldwide)
sales 1.373 billion euros (2016)
Branch Metal processing
Website www.bpw.de
As of January 29, 2018

The BPW Bergische Achsen Kommanditgesellschaft is a global supplier to the commercial vehicle industry. The family-run company is headquartered in Wiehl , 50 kilometers east of Cologne .

BPW develops and produces chassis systems for trailers and semi-trailers in the commercial vehicle and agricultural sectors. In addition, the companies F. Hesterberg & Söhne (Ennepetal, Germany), A / S (Ringsted, Denmark), idem telematics (Munich / Ulm, Germany) and Transport-Teknik A / S (Kolding, Denmark) belong to the BPW Group.

In addition to axles, suspension systems and brake technologies, the BPW Group's product portfolio also includes locking systems and body technology, lightweight construction solutions , telematics applications for trucks and trailers, and lighting systems.

The BPW Group is represented in over 30 countries around the world, has eight development locations, 18 production facilities (including in Germany, Russia, Hungary, China, Australia and South Africa), more than 60 sales companies and over 3,200 service partners.

Company history

Insight into a BPW axle

On July 15, 1898, Otto Nohl, Carl Ferdinand Reusch, Ernst Gustav Reusch and Friedrich Zapp founded the B ergische P atentachsenfabrik GmbH in W iehl. The origin of the company is a forging hammer operated with water power - typical for the industrialization in the Bergisches Land. Gustav Friedrich Kotz senior financed his son-in-law Otto Nohl's share in the company. On October 3rd, 12 employees began manufacturing iron axles for carriages, farm wagons and haulage wagons. In addition to the axles that had to be lubricated with truck grease every day, BPW manufactured patented axles that had permanent oil lubrication . In 1900 Carl Ferdinand and Ernst Gustav Reusch left the company and sold their shares to Otto Nohl and Friedrich Zapp.

On October 1, 1901, Nohl's brother-in-law Gustav Friedrich Kotz jun. into the company. He became managing director on April 1, 1902, bought Friedrich Zapp's shares and in the same year made his first business contacts with customers in Denmark and the Netherlands.

Between 1903 and 1907, BPW developed the new NOKO patent axle; it was praised by the specialist press as an "epoch-making invention". In the course of the First World War Gustav Friedrich Kotz and parts of the workforce were drafted into military service. From its founding until the start of the war, BPW had produced 313,300 steering knuckles. In addition to lubricating and patented axles, BPW also produced plain bearing axles for military wagons. After Otto Nohl fell seriously ill, Gustav Friedrich Kotz was released from military service, took over his business shares and became the sole owner of BPW. Fourteen company employees died in the First World War.

In 1924, BPW, in collaboration with SKF , built an axle with tapered roller bearings for the first time . This axle achieved a pulling force saving of 50 percent, a lubricant saving of up to 80 percent and a fuel saving of around 10 percent. Roller bearing axles could be loaded 50 percent more with the same pulling force and drive faster because their bearings were less heated.

In 1929 a new trademark was registered for BPW. It shows the letters BPW in a circle with an axle and two wheels on a paved road. This logo is still used today in a modified form. At that time BPW supplied customers in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, France, Italy, Croatia, Poland, Spain, South Africa, the Czech Republic and Hungary.

In the mid-1930s, a private siding to the Wiehltalbahn was created at the Harschlenke quarry opposite. Actually, both companies had applied for their own connection; the Reichsbahndirektion Elberfeld only wanted to approve one connection and only did so on the condition that the other company should also use the connection. The connection to the quarry was finally approved, but only remained in operation for ten years and was then used by the axle factory until its own connection was completed in 1949.

In 1937, BPW was converted into a limited partnership . The company name was now Bergischeachsefabrik Fr. Kotz & Sons . For the first time, the company employed more than 1,000 people. In addition to sales outlets in Berlin , Düsseldorf , Frankfurt , Hamburg and Leipzig , BPW opened branches in Wroclaw , Königsberg , Stettin and Vienna .

On September 1, 1939, Hitler began the Second World War by invading Poland . The vehicle manufacturers supplied by BPW mainly produce military trailers, gun mountings and searchlight vehicles, as well as, to a lesser extent, civilian trailers. Production had been declining since 1942 and exports came to a standstill in November 1944. Of the 1,327 employees, 201 died in the war and 62 were reported missing. As early as July 1945, BPW again received a limited production permit from the Allied authorities.

Post war history

Gustav Friedrich Kotz died in 1948. His son Fritz Kotz took over the management.

In 1958, BPW began series production of square hollow axles for truck trailers. Square hollow axles are lighter and more resilient than the axles with a solid cross-section that were widely used up to that point. In 1959, BPW presented an air spring crank axle for truck trailers for the first time at the IAA ; In 1967 the air suspension axle with tubular roll bellows followed.

In 1961 Christian Peter Kotz joined BPW. Uwe Kotz followed him in 1968. The brothers continued to run the company since the death of their father Fritz Kotz in 1980 and continued to expand: In 1968 Transport-Teknik A / S from Holding in Denmark became a manufacturer of lighting and cable systems for trailers , Part of the BPW Group. In 1982, HBN-Teknik A / S, a specialist in lightweight components from Ringstedt in Denmark , was integrated into the BPW Group.

By 1990 the BPW Group also founded and took over sales companies in Australia, Denmark, Finland, Great Britain, Italy, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, Singapore, South Africa and Spain. In addition, production facilities were set up in Australia and South Africa. At the same time, the company introduced a new system of material and production control. The so-called "documented production" ensured a detailed recording and evaluation of all important production features and thus guaranteed the reconstruction of every production stage - it was, so to speak, the forerunners of a quality management system .

In 1983 F. Hesterberg und Söhne GmbH and Co. KG, specialists in locking and body technology, became part of the BPW Group.

In 1994 the name was changed to BPW Bergischeachse limited partnership.

In the same year, BPW began building a new logistics center and shifted all transport to the road. Previously, the private rail connection to the Wiehl Valley Railway used up to that point was terminated by Deutsche Bahn . The logistics center was completed in 2000.

In 1995 BPW founded a joint venture for manufacturing in Meizhou , China .

In 1998 Michael Pfeiffer became personally liable partner alongside Christian Peter and Uwe Kotz . In 1998, the world's first KTL coating system for truck trailer axles was put into operation and the subsidiary 'BPW Italia' for the manufacture of steering axles was founded. The production facilities in Wiehl were modernized.

In 2009 Irmgard Scherer was accepted into the group of personally liable partners. In 2011 Christian Peter Kotz retired from active management; Uwe Kotz, Irmgard Scherer and Michael Pfeiffer continued to run the company as personally liable managing directors.

In 2012, BPW Bergischeachsen KG took a majority stake in idem GmbH based in Munich, a manufacturer-independent provider of trailer telematics and temperature control. At the end of 2013, BPW bought Funkwerk eurotelematik, a subsidiary of Funkwerk AG . The company specializes in the development and operation of telematics systems in trailers.

On December 31, 2013 Irmgard Scherer left the company. In addition to Uwe Kotz and Michael Pfeiffer, Uwe Frielingsdorf, Achim Kotz and Markus Schell joined as personally liable partners. In 2014 Uwe Kotz retired.

In April 2014 idem GmbH and Funkwerk eurotelematik GmbH merged to form idem telematics; At the end of 2015, the BPW Group took over idem telematics GmbH completely. BPW justified the acquisition of the company with a strategic realignment, which among other things includes the expansion of the product portfolio in the electronics and telematics sector . In October 2016, BPW and SAP announced the establishment of a joint innovation center to develop and offer integrated telematics and ERP systems for mail order companies and logistics companies ("Internet of Transport"). BPW expanded its traditional axles business area with a solution for inner-city delivery traffic, consisting of an electric axle drive and energy storage.

Up until 2015, the BPW Group's spare parts business focused primarily on other European countries. In 2015, BPW also expanded its position in the German aftermarket business through takeovers and investments: with the subsidiaries BESKO Nutzfahrzeugteile (Büdelsdorf) and T-Parts, BPW expanded its spare parts trading presence in Germany.
In November 2015, BPW took over the majority of PE Automotive, a leading provider in the independent aftermarket. In spring 2016, NTV Nutzfahrzeugteile Oesterhaus (Bielefeld) was integrated into the BPW Group.

BPW generates around half of its electricity consumption itself with the help of solar roofs and hydropower . With the water turbine, BPW is building on the company's founding 120 years ago as a hammer mill . Since the summer of 2017, BPW has switched its entire supply of electricity to renewable sources . BPW operates several charging stations on the factory premises .

Company museum

The Axis, Wheel and Carriage museum focuses on the invention, distribution and development of axles, wheels and wagons and the history of BPW.

Awards

  • From 2005 onwards, BWP won the annual image prize Best Brand in the trailer axles category nine times in a row
  • At the end of 2015, BPW wins the European Transport Award for Sustainability for 2016
  • BPW has been awarded the "Top Job" seal as one of the best employers among German medium-sized companies
  • 2017 Trailer Innovation Award in the Components category for "Air Save", a system that monitors tire pressure and automatically corrects it if necessary
  • 2017 best professional workshop brand in the omnibus, commercial vehicle and trailer service category
  • 2017 Telematics Award for the gateway hub concept "TC Trailer Gateway" from idem Telematics

Web links

Commons : BPW Bergische Axes  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ http://www.bpw.de/
  2. ↑ Ralf Johanning: Solution miracle - Best brands superstructures 2016. In: Eurotransport.de. EuroTransportMedia Verlags- und Veranstaltungs-GmbH, August 25, 2016, accessed on December 5, 2016 .
  3. ↑ BPW Annual Report 2016. (No longer available online.) BPW Bergischeachsen KG, archived from the original on January 29, 2018 ; accessed on January 29, 2018 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.bpw.de
  4. ↑ a b BPW Sustainability Report 2016. Accessed on January 29, 2018 .
  5. ↑ BPW subsidiaries. BPW Group, accessed on December 5, 2016 .
  6. ↑ BPW buys Funkwerk Eurotelematik. In: VerkehrsRundschau. December 12, 2013, accessed December 5, 2016 .
  7. ↑ BPW: Pfeiffer takes over chairmanship of the management. In: amz.de / NKW-Partner. Schlütersche Verlagsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG, October 14, 2014, accessed on December 5, 2015 .
  8. ↑ Harald Knoop: Uwe Kotz has left the BPW bridge. Kölnische Rundschau, April 6, 2014, accessed on November 24, 2016 .
  9. ↑ SAP / BPW drive the digitization of transport processes. In: Kfz-Anzeiger - The portal for the transport industry. Stünings Medien GmbH, October 19, 2016, accessed on December 5, 2016 .
  10. ↑ Transport 4.0: SAP and BPW are driving digitalization forward. In: Allgemeine Bauzeitung. PATZER VERLAG GmbH & Co. KG, November 7, 2016, accessed on December 5, 2016 .
  11. ↑ VerkehrsRundschau (Ed.): Transport 4.0: The data highway as a fast lane . No. 46/2016 . Springer Science- & Business Media, Munich 2016, p. 36 .
  12. ↑ Friedemann Siering: Axles under power: Bergische traditional company relies on electric mobility . Ed .: Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger. Cologne 2016, p. 11 .
  13. ↑ BPW takes over majority in parts supplier PE Automotive. Springer Fachmedien München GmbH, November 24, 2015, accessed on December 5, 2016 .
  14. ↑ AMZ.de / NKW-Partner: BPW on a shopping spree - takeover of NTV commercial vehicle parts . Schlütersche Verlagsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG, March 14, 2016, accessed on December 5, 2016 .
  15. ↑ In the spotlight: Best Brands 2016. In: Eurotransport.de. EuroTransportMedia Verlags- und Veranstaltungs-GmbH, accessed on December 5, 2016 .
  16. ↑ Sandra Lehmann: European Transport Prize for Sustainability 2016 awarded. In: logistik-heute.de. HUSS-VERLAG GmbH, November 27, 2015, accessed on December 5, 2016 .
  17. ^ The best employers in Germany: BPW Bergischeachsen limited partnerships. (No longer available online.) In: http://www.topjob.de/news/news-1507.html?newsid=7592 . Center for Employer Attractiveness and University of St. Gallen, archived from the original on April 3, 2018 ; accessed on April 2, 2018 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.topjob.de
  18. ↑ Trailer Innovation - Home. In: trailer-innovation.com. Retrieved December 21, 2016 .
  19. ↑ PROFI workshop editorial staff: Award Best PROFI workshop brand | PROFI-Werkstatt - The magazine for the commercial vehicle aftermarket. In: www.profi-werkstatt.net. Retrieved December 21, 2016 .
  20. ↑ Telematics Award 2016 . In: Telematics Market . ( telematik-markt.de [accessed on December 21, 2016]).

Coordinates: 50 ° 56 '47.8 "  N , 7 ° 34' 1.9"  E