Röchling Group

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Röchling Group

logo
legal form SE & Co. KG
founding 1822
Seat Mannheim , Germany
management
  • Hanns-Peter Knaebel, chairman
  • Franz Lübbers
  • Evelyn Thome
Number of employees approx. 11,500
sales 2.35 billion euros
Branch Plastics processing
Website www.roechling.com
As of May 20, 2020

The Röchling SE & Co. KG , based in Mannheim , Baden-Württemberg is a group of companies with roots in the Saarland coal and steel industry, the world today in the field of plastics processing operates.

According to its own account, the Röchling Group is one of the leading international companies in plastics processing. It is divided into the three corporate divisions Industrial, Automotive and Medical. In 2019 around 11,500 employees at 90 locations in 25 countries (South and North America, Europe and Asia) achieved sales of 2.35 billion euros.

history

Beginnings

Carl Röchling (1827–1910) managed the company at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries.

In 1822, Friedrich Ludwig Röchling set up his own business in Saarbrücken. Röchling died childless in 1836 and bequeathed the company to his four nephews, the sons of his brother Christian. The "brothers" Theodor, Ernst, Carl and Fritz Röchling, namesake of Gebr. Röchling KG, began with the production of coke and industrial iron processing from the middle of the 19th century . After the death of his brothers, Carl Röchling (1827–1910) ran the business alone for almost two decades. In 1881 he bought the Völklingen ironworks , which from then on was operated under the name “Völklinger Eisenwerk Gebrüder Röchling”. The Saarbrücken – Trier railway line opened in 1860 favored the hut; likewise the fact that after the war of 1870/71 parts of Alsace and Lorraine became part of the German Empire. After acquiring this ironworks, which UNESCO raised to the rank of World Heritage Site in 1994 , Röchling developed into Germany's largest iron girder manufacturer. In 1883 the first blast furnace went into operation there in Völklingen .

View from the Völklingen train station to the Röchling iron and steel works (1910)

From 1898 on, Hermann Röchling (1872–1955) took on a number of tasks in the company and became general manager after the death of his father Carl. Under his leadership, the smelter developed into a "modern" blast furnace plant that was also able to produce the stainless steels that were in increasing demand .

First World War

The stainless steel rolling mill in Völklingen (1920)

After the beginning of the First World War , the Völklingen ironworks was converted to war needs in 1914. A factory was built on the site to manufacture bullets of almost all calibres for artillery . In addition, a large part of the material that was needed to manufacture the steel helmets of the German army was produced in Völklingen. After the end of the war, the French victorious power withdrew ownership of the Carlshütte in Diedenhofen / Thionville , the iron ore mines in Lorraine and all branches in France from the Röchling family . A court martial sentenced Hermann Röchling in absentia to 10 years in prison for dismantling French factories in the occupied territories.

1920 to 1945

In the 1920s, the group not only included companies in the coal and steel industry, but also banks and trading houses as well as extensive real estate holdings. Hermann Röchling acquired other companies, including the Berliner Holzveredelung GmbH in 1922, the first plastics company from which today's Röchling Engineering Plastics SE & Co. KG , based in Haren in Emsland, developed. Politically, the "Patriarch" campaigned for the reintegration of the Saar area, which was under a League of Nations mandate until 1935, to Germany. In 1935 he joined the NSDAP and became a member of the Armaments Advisory Council of the Reichswehr Ministry , in 1938 appointed as a military economic leader and in 1942 appointed "Reich Commissioner for Iron and Steel in the Occupied Territories". During the Second World War, the Saarland-based company manufactured weapons such as the Röchling grenade in large numbers in its electric furnace .

Leading representatives of the Röchling Group were indicted in the Rastatt trials under Control Council Act No. 10 . In the appeal proceedings in 1949 before the Supérieur Tribunal, the defendants Hermann Röchling (ten years), Ernst Röchling (five years), von Gemmingen and Rodenhauser (three years each) were sentenced to imprisonment and confiscation of property. In addition to the economic plundering of the occupied countries, Hermann and Ernst Röchling were found guilty of at least tolerating the mistreatment of foreign forced laborers in their companies. For health reasons, Bodenhauser was released early in 1949 and the two Röchlings in 1951.

Second half of the 20th century

In 1956, the company bought Rheinmetall Berlin AG , supplier to the newly founded Bundeswehr . The Völklinger Hütte was under French administration until 1956 , when it was returned to the Röchling family. In the same year Ernst Röchling , a nephew of Hermann Röchling, took over the helm of the plant in Völklingen. In 1960 the company was divided into two holdings: KG Gebr. Röchling and Industrieverwaltung Röchling GmbH , which was renamed Röchling Industrieverwaltung GmbH (RIV) in 1972 . All listed companies, including the investment in Rheinmetall AG, were combined in it.

For the Röchling Group, the 1960s and 1970s were marked by the coal crisis and the subsequent steel crisis . The company reacted to the falling income in these areas with diversification and a complete withdrawal from the steel industry and the Saarland. In 1978 the Völklinger Hütte was sold to Arbed, today's Saarstahl AG .

Instead, the Röchling Group acquired holdings and entire companies in the fields of mechanical engineering , telecommunications , electrical installation , franking systems and measurement, control and regulation technology . With the acquisition of the Seeber Group and Sustaplast KG, the declared expansion of the plastics processing area began in the 1980s .

21st century

At the beginning of the 21st century, the conglomerate employed more than 41,000 people in more than 300 subsidiaries and affiliated companies and generated sales of around 6.1 billion euros. The largest source of sales was the electronics and armaments group Rheinmetall, in which Röchling held a 42.1 percent share.

In the opinion of the Manager-Magazin, the Röchling Group “got tangled up” with the company's strong diversification and branching out. The expansion of the subsidiary Rheinmetall under the controversial CEO Hans Brauner brought sales increases, but no returns. Therefore, Röchling decided in 2001 under the new non-family managing director Georg Duffner a fundamental change of strategy: moving away from the conglomerate and further expansion of the plastics processing division. In 2004 Röchling sold its majority stake in Rheinmetall at a price of 570 million euros. In 2005, Francotyp-Postalia, a manufacturer of franking and inserting machines and the loss-making telecommunications company DeTeWe, were sold.

During the conversion to a plastics producer, all family members withdrew from the operational core business and switched to supervisory bodies in accordance with the shareholders' resolution. In 2001, for example, Klaus Greinert , Richard Röchling's son-in-law and former managing director, joined the advisory board and became chairman of the family council. There he replaced Kurt Wigand Freiherr von Salmuth , who had been a member of various family committees since 1964. In 2008, Bernd Michael Hönle, Managing Director since 1994, became the last operational family member to join the supervisory bodies.

The restructuring started in 1978 to a pure plastics processor with the areas of high-performance plastics and automotive plastics was completed in 2006. In 2006, the last electronics company and a cold rolling mill were sold, which brought the Röchling Group an increase in profits. In 2008 Röchling decided to manufacture engineering plastics as a third product division and acquired the first medical technology company. In 2009 Röchling still had 56 subsidiaries instead of 327 at the time of the conglomerate. In 2011 sales exceeded one billion euros, with Röchling employing around 6,600 people worldwide. In 2012, the Röchling Group invested over 140 million euros and expanded into Brazil, India, Australia and China. The first production site in Mexico and a joint venture in Japan followed in 2016.

In 2014, the company was renamed Röchling SE & Co. KG. In 2016, the previous chairman of the board, Georg Duffner, was replaced by Ludger Bartels and the corporate divisions were reorganized: In addition to the existing automotive division, the previous second division, "High-Performance Plastics", was renamed "Industrial" and the third division, "Medical", was founded. Hanns-Peter Knaebel has been CEO of the Röchling Group and responsible for the Medical division since January 2018 .

Companies

management

Company decisions are made by the Shareholders' Committee, the Advisory Board and the Röchling Management Board. In 2014, over 200 members of the Röchling family were shareholders. While the tasks of the advisory board correspond to a supervisory board, the Röchling Management Board is responsible for strategy development and operational implementation. In addition to the executive board, managers from the industrial, automotive, medical and economic regions are represented here.

In 2008 (Shareholders' Committee) and 2010 (Advisory Board), Johannes Freiherr von Salmuth , a direct descendant of Friedrich Röchling in the sixth generation, took over the chairmanship of the supervisory bodies. His deputy on the advisory board is Carl Peter Thürmel, also a member of the Röchling family. Hanns-Peter Knaebel has been CEO of the Röchling Group since 2018 and is responsible for the Medical division. He replaced the retired Ludger Bartels.

Advisory Board

  • Johannes Freiherr von Salmuth (Chairman)
  • Carl Peter Thürmel (Deputy Chairman)
  • Günter von Au
  • Georg Duffner
  • Gregor Greinert
  • Uta Kemmerich-Keil
  • Klaus Nehring
  • Gisbert Rühl
  • Rainer Schulz

Divisions

Since 2016, the Röchling Group has been divided into the three corporate divisions Industrial, Automotive and Medical. Almost 38 percent of sales are generated in Germany, 34 percent in the rest of Europe, followed by America (18 percent) and Asia (10 percent).

The Röchling Group operates 26 locations in Germany: Arnstadt , Bad Grönenbach -Thal, Brensbach , Gernsbach , Haren (Ems) , Ingolstadt , Cologne , Lahnstein , Laupheim , Lützen , Mainburg , Munich , Mannheim , Nentershausen (Westerwald) , Neuhaus am Rennweg , Peine , Roding , Ruppertsweiler , Rüsselsheim , Stuttgart , Troisdorf , Wackersdorf , Waldachtal , Weidenberg , Worms and Xanten .

Industrial

The product range of the Industrial division includes semi-finished and finished parts made of thermosetting and thermoplastic plastics. The semi-finished products produced include plates, round, hollow and flat rods, molded parts and profiles. The prefabricated parts include machined thermoplastic components for industrial applications. This division employs 3687 people at 42 locations.

Automotive

The Automotive division employs over 6,100 people in 41 company locations. It supplies automobile manufacturers and system suppliers with plastic applications in the fields of “aerodynamics”, “propulsion” and “structural lightweight”. According to Röchling, the declared goals are to reduce emissions, weight and fuel consumption in the automotive industry.

Medical

The Medical division produces plastic components for customers in the medical technology and pharmaceutical industries and is divided into the areas of “Diagnostics”, “Fluid Management”, “Pharma” and “Surgery & Interventional”. The products are used in drug delivery systems , primary packaging , surgical instruments, and diagnostic disposables. This division comprises six locations with over 1110 employees.

Röchling Foundation

The non-profit 'Röchling Foundation GmbH' was founded in 1990. It is financed from the start-up capital made available by the entrepreneurial family, from limited partner shares in Röchling SE & Co. KG that are given and inherited by shareholders, income from assets and monetary donations.

The foundation focuses on the topic of "Plastics & Environment" and wants to make a contribution to reducing the environmental impact of plastics worldwide. To this end, the foundation supports scientific research into new concepts for the reduction, dismantling and improved recycling of plastic waste as well as projects in the field of education for sustainable development.

The foundation promoted collection stations for plastic waste in Mumbai, India, and financed the construction of the garbage collection ship "Manatee" of the One Earth - One Ocean association for cleaning the oceans. In 2018 she supports the further development of the "manatee" into a recycling system at sea, the research into a possibly plastic-decomposing insect larva as well as the collection and recycling of plastic waste in the Ganges Delta.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b See chronological print, Mannheim District Court HRA 3529; online in the business register .
  2. ↑ a b c Jens Koenen: Röchling is feeling the consequences of the crisis - especially in the automotive sector . In: Handelsblatt . May 20, 2020, p. 45 .
  3. ↑ About the group | Röchling Group DE. Röchling Group, July 1, 2019, accessed December 5, 2019 .
  4. ↑ a b Tatjana Junker: Röchling's result collapses. Mannheimer Morgen, May 24, 2019, p. 19 , accessed on May 24, 2019 .
  5. ^ D. Richard Nutzinger: The Röchling house in Ludwigshafen a. Rh. 1849-1929. Pictures from family, local and economic history . Julius Waldkirch & Cie., Ludwigshafen a. Rh. 1929, p. 11-16 .
  6. ^ D. Richard Nutzinger: 50 Years of Röchling Völklingen . Gebr. Hofer AG, Saarbrücken-Völklingen 1931, p. 8-9 .
  7. ^ Gerhard Seibold: Röchling. Continuity in change . Jan Thorbecke, Stuttgart 2001, ISBN 3-7995-0101-0 , p. 63 .
  8. ^ Gerhard Seibold: Röchling. Continuity in change . Jan Thorbecke, Stuttgart 2001, ISBN 3-7995-0101-0 , p. 115-120 .
  9. ↑ a b Gerhild Krebs: From the building trade to armaments to the UNESCO World Heritage Site Alte Völklinger Hütte. (PDF) 2002, pp. 1–2 , accessed on April 24, 2018 .
  10. ↑ a b c voelklinger-huette.org: The history of the Völklinger Hütte. Retrieved April 24, 2018 .
  11. ^ D. Richard Nutzinger: 50 Years of Röchling Völklingen . Gebr. Hofer AG, Saarbrücken-Völklingen 1931, p. 51-52 .
  12. ^ Gerhard Seibold: Röchling. Continuity in change . Jan Thorbecke, Stuttgart 2001, ISBN 3-7995-0101-0 , p. 168 .
  13. ^ Ralf Banken: Röchling, Hermann . In: New German Biography (NDB) . tape 21 . Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 2003, ISBN 3-428-11202-4 , pp. 705 .
  14. ^ Gerhard Seibold: Röchling. Continuity in change . Jan Thorbecke, Stuttgart 2001, ISBN 3-7995-0101-0 , p. 192-194 .
  15. ^ Ralf Banken: Röchling, Hermann . In: New German Biography (NDB) . Duncker & Humblot, Berlin 2003, ISBN 3-428-11202-4 , pp. 703 .
  16. ^ Gerhard Seibold: Röchling. Continuity in change . Jan Thorbecke, Stuttgart 2001, ISBN 3-7995-0101-0 , p. 196 .
  17. ↑ 100 years of Röchling Kunststoff - an anniversary after an eventful history . In: Meppener Tagespost . June 25, 2016, p. 20 .
  18. ^ Inge Plettenberg: About the relations of Saarland heavy industrialists to National Socialism . In: Ten instead of a thousand years. The time of National Socialism on the Saar 1935-1945 . Merziger, Saarbrücken 1988, ISBN 3-923754-06-X , p. 63 .
  19. ^ Ernst Klee: The dictionary of persons in the Third Reich. Who was what before and after 1945? S. Fischer, Frankfurt 2003, ISBN 3-10-039309-0 , pp. 502 .
  20. ^ Inge Plettenberg: About the relations of Saarland heavy industrialists to National Socialism . In: Ten instead of a thousand years. The time of National Socialism on the Saar 1935-1945 . Merziger, Saarbrücken 1988, ISBN 3-923754-06-X , p. 66-67 .
  21. ^ Françoise Berger, Hervé Joly: "Case 13": The Rastatt Röchling procedure . In: NMT - The Nuremberg Military Tribunals between History, Justice and Righteousness . Ed .: Priemel and Stiller, Hamburger Edition 2013, ISBN 978-3-86854-577-7 , p. 487 f.
  22. ^ Rheinmetall AG: 125 years of Rheinmetall - the years 1946 to 1956. Accessed April 24, 2018 .
  23. ^ Gerhard Seibold: Röchling. Continuity in change . Jan Thorbecke, Stuttgart 2001, ISBN 3-7995-0101-0 , p. 307-308 .
  24. ^ Gerhard Seibold: Röchling. Continuity in change . Jan Thorbecke, Stuttgart 2001, ISBN 3-7995-0101-0 , p. 357 .
  25. ↑ Gerhild Krebs: From the construction industry to armaments to the UNESCO World Heritage Site Alte Völklinger Hütte. (PDF) 2002, p. 4 , accessed on April 24, 2018 .
  26. ^ Gerhard Seibold: Röchling. Continuity in change . Jan Thorbecke, Stuttgart 2001, ISBN 3-7995-0101-0 , p. 300-314 .
  27. ↑ Röchling / plastics division is to be expanded . In: Handelsblatt . No. 115 , June 18, 1993, pp. 19 .
  28. ↑ handelsblatt.com: The Röchling Group - family clan rules over conglomerate. November 24, 2004, accessed April 26, 2018 .
  29. ↑ Röchling supports Rheinmetall's strategy . In: Handelsblatt . No. 121 , June 1, 2001, p. 14 .
  30. ^ Mixed results at Röchling . In: Saarbrücker Zeitung . June 27, 2001.
  31. ↑ Martin Scheele: Strong old, peaceful offspring. manager-magazin.de, accessed on April 24, 2018 .
  32. ↑ Röchling relies on the plastics business . In: Handelsblatt . No. 111 , June 11, 2004, p. 14 .
  33. ↑ Frank Seidlitz: After 50 years, the industrial family separated from the armaments company - shares were widely spread. Röchlings make Rheinmetall sales perfect . In: The world . No. 282 , November 30, 2004, pp. 15 .
  34. ↑ Röchling sells Francotyp-Postalia. Financial investor Quadriga takes hold . In: Börsen-Zeitung . No. 48 , March 10, 2005, pp. 13 .
  35. ↑ handelsblatt.com: Röchling relies on plastics. June 10, 2005, accessed April 24, 2018 .
  36. ↑ Röchling also parted ways with DeTeWe. Focus on plastics - loss makers given up . In: Börsen-Zeitung . No. 134 , July 15, 2005, p. 11 .
  37. ↑ Anja Müller: When successors become investors . In: Handelsblatt . October 16, 2017, p. 36 .
  38. ↑ a b Markus Plate, Torsten Groth, Volker Ackermann, Arist von Schlippe: Gebr. Röchling KG . In: Large German family businesses: Generational succession, family strategy and corporate development . Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 2011, ISBN 978-3-525-40338-9 , pp. 215 .
  39. ↑ Baron von Salmuth 70 . In: Börsen-Zeitung . No. 14 , January 20, 2001, p. 14 .
  40. ↑ a b Harald Berlinghof: History. Rhein-Neckar-Zeitung, accessed on December 3, 2014 .
  41. ↑ Röchling relies entirely on plastics. Further small acquisitions - growth without debt - roots cut . In: Börsen-Zeitung . No. 99 , May 25, 2007, pp. 12 .
  42. ↑ Röchling builds up a new division. Technical plastics are to become the third leg - on an acquisition tour . In: Börsen-Zeitung . No. 117 , June 20, 2008, p. 11 .
  43. ↑ history. roechling.com, accessed April 24, 2018 .
  44. ↑ Benno Stieber: Less is more . In: Financial Times Germany . April 1, 2009, p. 6-11 .
  45. ↑ Röchling is growing at a double-digit rate . In: Börsen-Zeitung . No. 100 , May 25, 2012, p. 13 .
  46. ↑ Jens Koenen: The Röchling family helps in Venice . In: Handelsblatt . No. 111 , June 13, 2013, p. 19 .
  47. ↑ Jens Scheiner: Röchling Automotive opens its first plant in Mexico. Automobile Industry, May 20, 2016, accessed April 24, 2018 .
  48. ↑ Christian Otto: Röchling strengthens partnership in Japan. Automobile Industry, August 30, 2016, accessed April 24, 2018 .
  49. ↑ Bartels new CEO at Röchling . In: Meppener Tagespost . 22nd January 2016.
  50. ↑ Röchling is investing heavily . In: Meppener Tagespost . June 25, 2016, p. 20 .
  51. ↑ a b Knaebel head of the board at Röchling . In: Meppener Tagespost . 23 August 2017, p. 16 .
  52. ↑ Markus Plate, Torsten Groth, Volker Ackermann, Arist von Schlippe: Gebr. Röchling KG . In: Large German family businesses: Generational succession, family strategy and corporate development . Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, Göttingen 2011, ISBN 978-3-525-40338-9 , pp. 217-218 .
  53. ↑ Röchling Management Board. roechling.com, accessed April 24, 2018 .
  54. ↑ Johannes Freiherr von Salmuth controls Röchling . In: Börsen-Zeitung . No. 13 , January 20, 2011, p. 7 .
  55. ↑ plastverarbeiter.de: Changing of the Advisory Board of the Röchling Group. January 19, 2011, accessed April 24, 2018 .
  56. ↑ Advisory Board. roechling.com, accessed June 29, 2020 .
  57. ↑ Consolidated financial statements for the business year January 1, 2018 to December 31, 2018; online in the business register .
  58. ↑ About the group. roechling.com, accessed June 24, 2019 .
  59. ↑ Locations worldwide. roechling.com, accessed May 27, 2019 .
  60. ↑ Industry. roechling.com, accessed April 24, 2018 .
  61. ↑ Plastic machining: finished parts made of thermoplastics. roechling.com, accessed April 24, 2018 .
  62. ↑ a b c Röchling Group 2018/2019. (PDF) roechling.com, May 23, 2019, pp. 24-25 , accessed on June 24, 2019 .
  63. ↑ Products. roechling.com, accessed June 24, 2019 .
  64. ↑ About Röchling Automotive | Röchling Automotive DE. Röchling Group, July 1, 2019, accessed on December 5, 2019 (German).
  65. ↑ Medical | Röchling Medical DE. Röchling Group, July 1, 2019, accessed on December 5, 2019 (German).
  66. ^ Röchling Medicine. roechling.com, accessed April 24, 2018 .
  67. ↑ Entrepreneurial family with tradition. Röchling-Stiftung.de, accessed on April 24, 2018 .
  68. ↑ Eligibility criteria. Röchling-Stiftung.de, accessed on April 24, 2018 .
  69. ↑ Oliver Möllenstädt: Collecting waste with a system. May 10, 2016, accessed April 24, 2018 .
  70. ↑ Karl-Wilhelm Götte: Make an elephant out of a "sea hamster". April 20, 2017. Retrieved April 24, 2018 .
  71. ↑ One Earth - One Ocean: The Solution - One Earth One Ocean. Retrieved June 8, 2018 .
  72. ↑ Interview of the Röchling Foundation with Dr. Federica Bertocchini. Röchling-Stiftung.de, accessed on April 24, 2018 .
  73. ↑ Soceo: Combating Plastic Pollution in the Sundarbans. Retrieved June 8, 2018 .