Kuka (company)

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Kuka

logo
legal form Corporation
ISIN DE0006204407
founding 1898
Seat Augsburg , Germany
management
Number of employees 14,235 (2018)
sales 3.2 billion euros (2018)
Branch mechanical engineering
Website www.kuka.com
As of March 28, 2019

The Kuka AG (proper spelling KUKA) (formerly IWKA ) is a publicly traded company in the engineering sector based in Augsburg and since 2016 majority owned by Chinese Midea -Konzerns. The company's divisions are Kuka Deutschland (formerly Kuka Roboter and Kuka Laboratories ), Kuka Systems and Kuka Industries, and Swisslog .

history

From IWKA to Kuka

1898 The company is founded by Johann Josef Keller (left) and Jakob Knappich
Former machine factory Keller & Knappich in Augsburg-Kriegshaber (today used as a residential complex)
Memorial plaque at the first company headquarters in Augsburg-Kriegshaber

The company was founded in Augsburg-Oberhausen in 1898 by Johann Josef Keller and Jakob Knappich . Initially, acetylene generators were produced for lighting fixtures. Due to the development of new light sources such as the Osram - bulb and the overproduction of calcium carbide associated fall in prices, the company expanded in 1905 its product range on Autogenous welding equipment from.

After the First World War, Keller and Knappich started production with safety, hand and power winches with automatic brake regulators in 1918 and also began to build large containers. This resulted in Bayerische Kesselwagen GmbH in 1922 , which took on the development and production of bodies for municipal vehicles, for example for street cleaning and garbage trucks . In 1927 large garbage trucks were driven out. At the same time, the company name Kuka was created from the first letters of the company name " K eller u nd K nappich A ugsburg" , which from this point onwards was able to establish itself as a brand on the international market. The latter can be seen in the fact that this special container name is used synonymously for “garbage can” in Hungary and for garbage trucks in the Czech Republic. In the following time, the company took over the construction and equipping of masts and components for the electrification of the Deutsche Reichsbahn in the greater Augsburg area. In 1936 the development and manufacture of spot welding devices began. At the same time, oxy-fuel welding technology was discontinued for reasons of profitability.

During the air raids on 25./26. February 1944 on Augsburg during the Second World War, the company's premises were also hit and significantly destroyed. In 1945 Kuka started again to manufacture welding machines and other small appliances. In 1948/49 the company opened up new business areas with products such as the double-cylinder circular knitting machine and the “Princess” travel typewriter . For strategic reasons, the industrialist Günther Quandt took over the company as part of a crisis management scheme, whereby the company form and company name were retained.

Marten armored personnel carrier with Kuka technology

In 1956 the company built automatic welding systems for refrigerators and washing machines and delivered the first multi-spot welding line to Volkswagen . A year later, the company opened up the market for civil and military property protection with the production of spiked tape protection systems. In 1960 the company received the order to manufacture 1,800 towers with 20 mm automatic cannons for the armored personnel carrier HS 30 of the Bundeswehr and in 1963, in cooperation with the Henschel works , supplied parts for special vehicles for the Federal Border Guard .

In 1966 the production of friction welding machines began . A year later, an order from the Deutsche Bundesbahn for the production of rail-bound company vehicles of the type Klv 53 followed .

In 1969, the company acquired a 50 percent stake in the welding technology specialist ARO Schweißmaschinen GmbH & Co KG. 1970 merged the two to Quandt Group companies belonging Kuka GmbH and Industrie-Werke Karlsruhe AG (IWK) for industrial plants Karlsruhe Augsburg Aktiengesellschaft, short IWKA, based in Karlsruhe, the IWK on the metal cartridges AG back. In the following years further welding systems were manufactured. With the manufacture of the FAMULUS robot , the entry into robot production was achieved in 1973, which went into series production in 1978 with the IR 601/60. The company headquarters had already been relocated from Oberhausen to Lechhausen two years earlier . From 1928 to 1980 the company was owned by the Quandt family , and since then the company has been largely in free float.

In 1981 the various activities of IWKA were converted into legally independent companies and the AG became a pure holding company . The business areas were created: Kuka welding systems and robots GmbH, Kuka Umwelttechnik GmbH and Kuka Wehrtechnik GmbH, which was sold to Rheinmetall again in 1999 . At the same time, the company began to internationalize, which expanded in the following years. At the end of 1982, LSW Maschinenfabrik GmbH in Bremen became a subsidiary of Kuka.

In 1983 the company built a test track for Marder and M113 armored personnel carriers . The Kuka municipal vehicles division was sold to the Faun . The first laser roof seam welding systems were manufactured in 1993 and the bonding and sealing technologies were expanded in the following years. At the same time, Kuka took over Werkzeugbau Schwarzenberg GmbH. "Kuka Roboter GmbH" has been run as a separate division since 1995. In 1996, Kuka Schweißanlagen GmbH became an independent company and supplied pressing tools for car side walls made of high-strength steel.

In 2005, in response to the company's changed economic position, the Annual General Meeting decided to rename IWKA to Kuka and to move the headquarters to Augsburg. In 2007, Kuka Schweißanlagen GmbH was transferred to Kuka Systems GmbH as part of the implementation of innovation strategies in the company.

In November 2014, Kuka took over the Swiss intralogistics company Swisslog with 2,500 employees for the equivalent of 280 million euros.

Takeover by Midea

As of March 2015, the largest shareholder in the shareholder structure was the Voith Group with 25.1% , followed by Swoctem (an investment arm of the Friedhelm Loh Group ) with 10 and the insurer Axa with 5% and other institutional investors, including the Bank of America with around 3%, York Capital Management with around 2.8% and Franklin Mutual Advisers LLC with around 2.75%. The remaining free float was around 51.35%.

In August 2015, the Chinese home appliance and air conditioning manufacturer Midea Group acquired 5.43% of the voting rights. Midea expanded its stake to 13.5% by May 2016 and then issued a public bid to increase it to at least 30%, but at the same time stated that it would not seek control over Kuka. On May 17, 2016, Midea submitted a takeover offer for EUR 4.6 billion or EUR 115 per share. This corresponded to a premium of more than 35 percent on the previous day's closing price. At the same time, Midea emphasized that it did not want to take over Kuka completely and that it did not want to conclude a domination agreement. The aim of the takeover offer is to expand its own stake from 13.5 percent to up to 49 percent. At the beginning of July 2016, the Swabian machine and plant manufacturer Voith and the Friedhelm Loh Group sold their 25.1 and 10% stakes in Midea, respectively. Loh earned around half a billion euros, Voith 1.2 billion euros. The Chinese secured a total of 48.6% of all shares - together with their already acquired shares of 13.5% - and were thus only barely behind the majority. The originally mentioned minimum target of 30% of the shares has already been significantly exceeded. On August 8, 2016, it was announced that Midea had acquired almost 95 percent of Kuka shares.

The federal government had tried in vain to fend off a takeover of Kuka by the Chinese company and advertised that German companies should participate. Robotics is considered a key technology of the 21st century and attempts were made to prevent future-oriented technology from migrating from Germany to China. In view of the takeover, EU Commissioner Günther Oettinger spoke out in favor of a European foreign trade law and suggested for “strategically important economic areas” to examine what could be done nationally or at European level in order to keep value creation and research in Europe in the future.

On December 29, 2016, the US authorities CFIUS (Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States) and DDTC (Directorate of Defense Trade Controls) approved the sale of Kuka to Midea.

The Kuka board of directors had concluded an investor agreement with Midea according to which the company is guaranteed extensive independence until 2023. According to the contract, the company's brands are to be secured, as is the data of customers and suppliers, in order to counteract fears that Midea might extract patents, data and other know-how from Kuka and use them itself after the takeover. In addition, the 14,200 Kuka employees were to keep their jobs for the next seven and a half years and existing locations were to be fixed for this period. The company headquarters in Augsburg, where 4,000 people work alone, is to be retained.

At the beginning of December 2018, CEO Till Reuter was dismissed after a profit warning and replaced on an interim basis by the previous CFO Peter Mohnen, who issued another profit warning in January 2019. Andreas Pabst became the new interim CFO.

Business areas

Industrial robots IR 160/60, IR601 / 60 from 1983 (2007)

Kuka AG is divided into the business areas Kuka Industries , Kuka Roboter and Kuka Systems :

  • Kuka Industries was created in 2015 by merging the Technology Solutions division (formerly part of Kuka Systems) and Reis Robotics , which Kuka took over in 2014 .
  • Kuka Roboter focuses on the manufacture and international sales of industrial robots and automated production solutions for the automotive, medical and solar technology, and aerospace industries. Kuka claims market leadership in Europe for its robots and has 25 subsidiaries around the world, mostly focused on sales and service. Kuka industrial robots have also been used in various feature films and used as robocoasters for amusement park rides. A subsidiary is Kuka Laboratories, which was converted into an independent company in 2011. On the one hand it develops basic technologies for the umbrella organization and on the other hand participates in research projects of the industry as well as of institutes and universities. The company carries a range of products for the medical and service sectors.
  • Kuka Systems is an international provider of products and services in the field of industrial processing of metallic and non-metallic materials, serves various industries (automotive, rail transport, aerospace , photovoltaics , industry) and is one of the market leaders in this field. Among other things, it produces the body of the Jeep Wrangler for Chrysler . Other customers are Boeing , Airbus , Ford , Volvo , Bosch and Siemens . In 2010, Kuka Systems supplied a TIG welding cell for the upper stage nozzle of the Ariane 5 launch vehicle .

See also

Web links

Commons : Kuka AG  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ https://www.kuka.com/de-de/%C3%BCber-kuka/management/vorstand
  2. ↑ a b Annual Report and Presentation 2016 , March 22, 2017, accessed on February 12, 2018.
  3. ↑ History: 1927 Kuka becomes a brand ( Memento from December 31, 2014 in the Internet Archive )
  4. ↑ Nádasdy Ádám: A metonimikus szemétláda. Magyar Narancs, September 18, 2003, accessed February 2, 2015 (Hungarian).
  5. ↑ Nebenfahrzeuge.de - 4th series - Klv 53 0059 - 0103. In: Nebenfahrzeuge.de. Retrieved January 9, 2017 .
  6. ↑ Stefan Gose: Panzerexp: Overview of German armaments companies. In: friedenskooperative.de. Retrieved January 9, 2017 .
  7. ↑ Rheinmetall defense - Chronicle 1999–2010 ( Memento of August 12, 2016 in the Internet Archive ).
  8. ^ Kuka History Bremen ( Memento from December 31, 2014 in the Internet Archive )
  9. ↑ IWKA is now called Kuka. Finanznachrichten.de, July 9, 2007, accessed February 2, 2015 .
  10. ↑ Kuka share - company profile - dates - 620440 - DE0006204407. In: onvista.de. January 9, 2017. Retrieved January 9, 2017 .
  11. ↑ Share of the Week - Kuka AG. lynxbroker.de, March 23, 2015, accessed March 23, 2015 .
  12. ↑ Eqs Group Ltd, Munich, Germany: Kuka Aktiengesellschaft: Release according to § 26 para 1 WpHG with the objective of Europe - dgap.de.. In: dgap.de. January 9, 2017. Retrieved January 9, 2017 .
  13. ↑ a b Purchase offer for robot builders: Chinese only want 49 percent of Kuka. In: Spiegel Online . June 14, 2016, accessed January 9, 2017 .
  14. ↑ ala./Reuters: Voith sells Kuka shares to Chinese. In: FAZ.net . July 3, 2016, accessed January 9, 2017 .
  15. ^ A b Anja Müller: Friedhelm Loh separates from Kuka package. In: handelsblatt .com. July 4, 2016, accessed January 9, 2017 .
  16. ↑ Kuka: Loh also sells after Voith. In: manager-magazin.de. July 4, 2016, accessed January 9, 2017 .
  17. ↑ Andreas Wilkens: Midea is taking over robot manufacturer Kuka to 94.5 percent. In: Heise online . August 8, 2016. Retrieved August 8, 2016 .
  18. ↑ a b ala./dpa: Another major shareholder is selling his Kuka shares. In: FAZ.net . July 4, 2016, accessed January 9, 2017 .
  19. ↑ ala./Reuters: To keep important knowledge in Europe. In: FAZ.net . July 5, 2016, accessed January 9, 2017 .
  20. ↑ bfch./dpa: Kuka sales to the Chinese take the last hurdle. In: FAZ.net . December 30, 2016, accessed January 9, 2017 .
  21. ↑ Reuters: Kuka agrees with the Chinese. In: handelsblatt .com. June 28, 2016. Retrieved January 9, 2017 .
  22. ↑ afp: Robot manufacturer apparently receives guarantees until the end of 2023. In: handelsblatt .com. June 25, 2016. Retrieved January 9, 2017 .
  23. ↑ About KUKA - KUKA AG. Retrieved on July 20, 2018 (German).
  24. ↑ Stefan Wolff: Kuka takeover is getting closer - major shareholder Loh sells to Midea. In: deutschlandfunk.de. July 4, 2016, accessed January 9, 2017 .
  25. ↑ Takeover by Midea: Major Kuka shareholders sell shares in Chinese. In: Spiegel Online . July 4, 2016, accessed January 9, 2017 .
  26. ↑ Chinese exchange leadership: Kuka CEO Reuter goes ahead of time n-tv.de on November 26, 2018, accessed on November 26, 2018
  27. ↑ Adjustment forecast 2018. Accessed on January 11, 2019 (German).
  28. ↑ Katja Joho: Kuka boss Reuter leaves involuntarily: "I don't like to go, I'm sad". Retrieved January 11, 2019 .
  29. ↑ Kuka integrates Reis into 'Kuka Industries'. February 6, 2015, accessed August 19, 2015 .
  30. ^ Kuka Aktiengesellschaft: Company profile ( Memento from April 8, 2015 in the Internet Archive )
  31. ^ "Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey" Attraction Details. Harry Potter World Orlando, March 22, 2010, archived from the original on March 28, 2010 ; Retrieved June 29, 2010 .
  32. ↑ RoboCoaster - Simworx. In: robocoaster.com. March 22, 2013, archived from the original on December 8, 2013 ; accessed on January 9, 2017 (English).
  33. ↑ Kuka Systems: About Us ( Memento from December 31, 2014 in the Internet Archive )
  34. ↑ Stéphane Itasse: Kuka Systems supplies TIG welding cell for space shuttle. In: maschinenmarkt.vogel.de. March 8, 2010, accessed January 9, 2017 .

Coordinates: 48 ° 22 '8.6 "  N , 10 ° 56" 2.4 "  E