Minimax (company)
| Minimax GmbH & Co. KG
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|---|---|
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| legal form | GmbH & Co. KG |
| founding | 1902 |
| Seat | Bad Oldesloe , Germany |
| Number of employees | 9,300 (December 31, 2019) in the entire Minimax Viking Group |
| sales | 1.7 billion EUR (2019) of the entire Minimax Viking Group |
| Branch | Fire protection |
| Website | www.minimax.com |
| As of June 17, 2020 | |
The Minimax GmbH & Co. KG is a fire protection company headquartered in Bad Oldesloe . The company operates a fire research center at its headquarters. Since the merger with the American The Viking Corporation, the company has been one of the largest in the industry worldwide.
In 1902, company founder Wilhelm Graaff brought the first mass-produced fire extinguisher onto the market, the " cone bag " developed by him and the Munich engineer Hans Mikorey . The name "Minimax" extinguishers for this comes from a contest of employees: a minimum of weight, price and effort - maximum simplicity and efficiency.
Business areas
Today the company stands for “stationary fire protection” with the business fields of plant construction, modernization and service. The area of mobile fire protection is served by Minimax Mobile Services GmbH & Co. KG.
history
In 1904 company founder Wilhelm Graaff (born June 30, 1872 in Stolberg ; † March 29, 1931 in Gundelsheim ) patented his Minimax cone . The fire extinguisher production was in 1905 by Berlin to Neuruppin shifted. The annual production was 65,000 fire extinguishers. In 1906 Minimax was the world market leader - with foreign companies in Europe and the USA . The first Minimax foam generators were introduced to the market in 1926. The "fire extinguisher Minimax" received advertising support with silent film documentaries from the production company Rimax-Film AG in Berlin, founded by Graaff in 1923. Around 1938 the company was converted into a stock corporation. After the destruction of the Berlin administration building and the expropriation of the Neuruppin plant, Minimax was rebuilt in West Germany in 1945. In 1953, Germany's most modern factory for fire extinguishers, devices and extinguishing systems for fire engines was built in Bad Urach near Stuttgart . In 1958 the factory in Bad Urach was expanded. The first universal ABC fire extinguishing powder received its official approval in 1959.
In 1968, a research center for fire protection was established in Bad Oldesloe. Preussag acquired the company in 1969 and merged it with the Hamburg-based automatic fire extinguishing system . The company, founded in 1929, had decades of experience in the manufacture and installation of stationary fire protection systems and had been based in Bad Oldesloe since 1966. In 1970 CEAG sold its extinguishing systems business (including the fire extinguisher brand Favorit ) to Minimax. Minimax GmbH, based in Bad Oldesloe and with a branch in Bad Urach , was founded in 1991. It was the lead company for all fire protection activities at Preussag AG. In 1998 Minimax expanded the fire protection research center in Bad Oldesloe, which has since been the largest of its kind in Europe.
In 2001 Preussag AG concentrated on its new core business of tourism; Minimax repositioned itself with Barclays Private Equity and the management as shareholders. With a market share of 30%, Minimax was the market leader in Germany and was the only European manufacturer to offer mobile and stationary fire protection solutions from a single source. In 2002 Minimax celebrated the company's 100th anniversary. In 2003 Investcorp acquired the majority of the shares and accelerated the internationalization of the company. In 2006 the Swedish finance company Industri Kapital took over the Investcorp shares. In 2007, Minimax took over CFP Fire Protection Inc., one of the American market leaders. The next acquisition took place in the USA in 2009; Another pillar was added with the Viking Corporation, based in Michigan. Since then, the company has been operating under the name Minimax Viking. From 2014 to 2018, in addition to the management, Kirkbi Invest A / S and the Intermediate Capital Group were shareholders in the company. Since 2018 only ICG and the management are shareholders of the Minimax Viking Group. The company currently generates sales of € 1.7 billion with 9,300 employees.
In Germany, Minimax has a close-knit network of regional offices as well as branches and agencies all over the world.
literature
- Graaff, Wilhelm. in: Rudolf Vierhaus (Ed.): German Biographical Encyclopedia (DBE). 2nd, revised and expanded edition, Volume 4 "Görres - Hittorp", KG Saur, Munich 2006, p. 76
- Wilhelm Graaff: Mene Tekel! A study on education for self-protection in case of fire. Minimax Society, Berlin, 1908
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Press release, February 2016
- ↑ filmography Rimax-Film AG: 1925 to 1928 , on filmportal.de, accessed on September 5, 2016
Coordinates: 53 ° 48 ′ 4.4 " N , 10 ° 23 ′ 20.2" E