Renk AG

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RENK Aktiengesellschaft

logo
legal form Corporation
ISIN DE0007850000
founding 1873
Seat Augsburg , GermanyGermanyGermany 
management
  • Christian Hammel (Administration and Production)
Number of employees 2319 (2018)
sales 559 million euros (2019)
Branch mechanical engineering
Website www.renk-ag.com

The Renk AG (proper spelling RENK AG), headquartered in Augsburg, is a publicly traded subsidiary of Volkswagen Vermögensverwaltungs-GmbH , the 76% of shares of the Company held. However, VW signed a sale agreement for its stake with Triton company in late January 2020 .

The company is a major supplier of high-quality gear units and drive technology for a wide variety of application areas with a global focus and in 2010 was one of the ten best-selling companies in the German defense industry. Large production sites are located in Augsburg , Rheine , Hanover and Winterthur (Switzerland) and - following the acquisition of the British company Horstman Holdings Ltd. in 2019 - - in Bath (England) and Sterling Heights (USA).

history

The name of the company goes back to Johann Julius Renk (born January 4, 1848, † November 3, 1896). After Johann Renk's death, the company was converted into a stock corporation in 1897. In 1923 the company became a new member of the GHH Group, from which today's MAN Group emerged. Since 1987 the company name has been Renk Aktiengesellschaft . Due to the majority takeover of MAN SE by Volkswagen AG, Renk AG has also been a member of the Volkswagen Group since 2011.

19th century

Johann Renk completed his apprenticeship as a locksmith and lathe operator at Maschinenfabrik Augsburg and from 1866 worked as a lathe operator at Maschinenfabrik LA Riedinger . During these years, Renk thought about a machine that could produce gears completely mechanically. At the time, it was common to do preliminary mechanical work and then painstakingly filing the teeth using templates. On May 1, 1873, Johann Renk founded a small mechanical workshop for the mechanical production of gears in Augsburg's Lechviertel (Am Brunnenlech 19 location ) . First he succeeded in building a semi-automatic spur gear planing machine that worked according to templates. A processing machine followed in 1877, with which one could completely manufacture conical gears for bevel gears . For this invention, which at that time caused a sensation in the professional world, Renk received the patent DRP 8000/79 in 1879. In the same year, the company moved to the site of a disused brick factory on Gögginger Strasse. The company's headquarters are still located there today. Two years later, the entrepreneur set up a factory health insurance fund for his workforce.

In order to be able to deliver the orders on time, we always worked in two shifts in the following years. In 1888 Renk employed 37 people and owned 15 self-made wheel planing machines in addition to other machine tools.

When Johann Renk died in November 1896 at the age of only 48, he left behind a company with over 100 employees that produced around 12,000 gears of all kinds every year. The turnover was around 500,000 marks .

After the founder's death, on March 11, 1897, his company was transformed into a stock corporation called Zahnräderfabrik Augsburg vorm. Joh. Renk (Act.-Ges.) Converted. The newly founded company acquired the company including property, equipment and machinery from the heirs of Johann Renk for a price of 666,391.51 marks.

In the first financial year of the stock corporation, the workforce consisted of 130 employees. The normal working hours were 60 hours per week: on workdays from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. with a lunch break of 1 hour and 20 minutes; Snack in the morning and 15 minutes in the afternoon. Overtime was worked from 5:00 in the morning to 8:30 in the evening, with an average hourly wage of 40 pfennigs.

20th century

In the years after the turn of the century, the company expanded production and cemented its good reputation. In the 1913/14 financial year, 842 people were employed, the weekly working time was 58 hours.

In order to mitigate the consequences of the First World War and to ensure the continued existence of the company, it was incorporated into the mechanical engineering group Gutehoffnungshütte from Oberhausen in 1923 . In the following years, Renk received both economic backing from important customers within the group and inexpensive sources of supply for fuels, pig iron and steel. From 1930 Renk concentrated on the manufacture of large gears for rolling mills and ships. In the years before and during the Second World War, the company was an important supplier to the German armed forces.

Steel processing companies such as the sister company Schloemann were among the most important customers after the Second World War . At the end of the 1950s, sales increased to around DM 50 million. At that time, Renk had around 1,400 workers. In the decades that followed, the company expanded its product range by taking over competing companies. In 1975, for example, the "Plain Bearings and Couplings" product area of ​​Eisenwerke Wülfel in Hanover came to Renk. In 1986 the company took a stake in Tacke GmbH in Rheine with the incorporation of the “industrial and marine gearboxes” product areas. In the same year the product area “control and test systems” was founded.

In 1987 the company was named Renk Aktiengesellschaft and was divided into the product areas "Automatic Vehicle Transmissions", "Drive Elements" and "Test Systems". The French companies Société Européenne d'Engrenages and Société d'Equipements, Systèmes et Mécanismes came to Renk in 1989. In 1995, the merger of Renk Tacke GmbH with Renk AG was finally completed.

21st century

In 2000, Renk took over the test bench activities of the US company Labeco for the “Test Systems” business unit . At the same time, the “Plain Bearings” product division of A. Friedr. Flender AG to the company. The name of the " Test Systems " division was changed to Renk Test System GmbH in 2004.

In 2007, the company hit the headlines due to a bribery scandal: an appeals court in Paris pronounced suspended sentences against Renk board spokesman Hirt and his former deputy Schulze (details in the “Criticism” section ).

In the same year, Renk-Maag GmbH was founded. It integrated the business activities of turbo gearboxes and spare parts (also for maritime applications) as well as synchronous, gear and gear clutches from Maag Gear AG .

Since 2011, Renk AG has been a member of the Volkswagen Group due to the majority takeover of MAN SE by Volkswagen AG .

In 2012, Renk Shanghai Service and Commercial Ltd. was founded. Co. and with it the opening of a Renk service base in Shanghai . In 2017, Renk AG took over the Dutch Damen Schelde Gears BV , a manufacturer of marine gearboxes. Also in that year the subsidiaries Renk Gears Private Ltd. in India and Renk Korea Co. Ltd. founded in Korea.

At the end of 2018, Renk AG was spun off from MAN SE into Volkswagen Vermögensverwaltungs-GmbH . In 2019, Renk AG bought the suspension specialist Horstman Holdings Limited . The group of companies is a provider of mobility solutions for armored wheeled and tracked vehicles.

At the end of January 2020, the majority owner Volkswagen concluded a sale agreement for its stake with the Triton company . Subject to official approvals, Triton will receive 76% of the shares in Renk and is therefore obliged to make a takeover offer to the remaining shareholders.

Technical milestones

1916 World's largest gear planer (diameter 7 meters)
1926 For the first time gears with ground tooth flanks
1939 "Fastest" transmission in the world for the aviation industry (36,000 / min)
1943 Development of the hydrostatic superimposed steering for tracked vehicles
1956 First turbine gearbox with a pitch circle speed of 185 m / s
1961 World's first electronic control for automatic vehicle transmissions
1964 First synchronous clutch (20,000 kW)
1965 Development of a hydrostatic-hydrodynamic steering drive for tracked vehicles
1971 First brake system with friction and fluid brake integrated in a vehicle transmission
1976 The world's first hardening and grinding of gears over 3 meters in diameter
1982 Manufacture of one of the largest marine gearboxes for ice-going ships (diesel engine with 40,000 kW)
1989 Manufacture of a turbo gearbox with the highest power ever transmitted in one gear mesh (75,000 kW)
1992 Most powerful planetary gearbox for ship propulsion with counter-rotating propellers (20,600 kW)
1994 First version of the world's most powerful turbo transmission (gas turbine output 90 MW)
1997 First version of the world's most powerful turbo transmission (gas turbine output of 100 MW)
1998 Bevel planetary gearbox for one of the largest vertical raw meal mills with an output of 4,800 kW and a speed of 21 / min
1999 First version of the world's most powerful turbo transmission with a gas turbine output of 140 MW; Delivery of a 110-ton planetary bevel gear (output up to 5,400 kW) to drive the most powerful roller mill in an Argentine cement plant
2000 Presentation of the newly developed etaX gearbox for higher efficiency
2001 First Codag system worldwide for the main drive of a frigate (total output 38 MW)
2002 Development of a 5 MW AeroGear for wind turbines
2004 First version of the world's specifically lightest high-performance marine gear (3.6 tons) in Codag arrangement (total output 6,300 kW)
2010 Development of a multiple branch transmission for an output torque of 15,000,000  Nm
2011 Acceptance of the world's first-built transmission system for the hybrid drive of a Codelag frigate with an output of 30,000 kW; Delivery of a 65 MW transmission system for the world's largest mega yacht
2012 Delivery of the electric hybrid gearbox for the world's largest sailing yacht
2013 Construction of the world's largest planetary gear for a wind power nacelle test bench with 15,000,000 Nm torque
2015 First version of the Cope cement mill gearbox with 8-motor drive and an output of 10 MW; Construction of the first electric drive module AED for quiet ship propulsion; Construction of the world's largest spur gear (290 tons) for driving the cutting head of a suction dredger with a torque of 2,500,000 Nm; Commissioning of the largest wind turbine test rig to date for complete wind power nacelles; First fully electric helicopter gearbox test bench for double rotor applications
2016 Delivery of the largest test stand for propellers (100 MW) and the largest bearing test stand for wind turbines; Construction of the world's largest bearing test rig for rolling bearings to date ; First version of the fastest running, straight-cut turbo gearbox (gear speed 156 m / s, center distance 1.73 m)

Corporate structure

Business areas

Renk AG is divided into four independent strategic business units: special gear units (industrial and marine gear units), vehicle gear units , standard gear units and plain bearings . In addition, test systems for road and rail vehicles, military track vehicles, aviation and wind turbines have been manufactured since 1960.

Managing directors

The Management Board is the management body of Renk AG and consisted of two members as of December 31, 2017. The members of the board of directors conduct all business of the company under joint responsibility. The executive board is appointed by the supervisory board. Rules of procedure form the basis of the board's work. The board consists of Florian Hofbauer (spokesman for the board, since 2007) and Christian Hammel (administration and production, since 2015).

Supervisory board

The Renk AG Supervisory Board elected in 2018 consists of the following people: Dr. Ingrun-Ulla Bartölke (chairwoman of the supervisory board), Roberto Armellini (deputy chairman of the supervisory board), Michael Behrendt, Hardy Brennecke, Joachim Drees, Lothar Evers (employee representative), Christiane Hesse, Thorsten Jablonski, Adela Lieb (employee representative), Klaus Refle (employee representative) ), Karina Schnur (employee representation) and Mario Sommer (employee representation).

Employee representation / works council

Renk AG's works councils exist at the Augsburg, Rheine and Hanover locations. The Augsburg works council is also responsible for Renk Test System GmbH and at the same time acts as the general works council for all German locations of Renk AG. It consists of a total of 12 members, three of whom are exempt works council members. The tasks of the works council are:

  • represented Renk AG in the VW Group
  • appoint a representative for the supervisory board in the economic committee
  • take care of personal and social matters

Locations and branches

Renk AG has production plants in Augsburg (vehicle, industrial and marine transmissions, test systems), Rheine (industrial and marine transmissions, clutches), Hanover (plain bearings, clutches), Winterthur (Switzerland), Bath (England) and Sterling Heights (USA) ) as well as further branches in France , USA , Brazil , Turkey , United Arab Emirates , Shanghai , South Korea , India , the Netherlands and Canada. Renk AG can be found through agencies in over 100 countries around the world.

Subsidiaries

  • Renk France SAS, Saint-Ouen-l'Aumône, France
  • Renk Corporation, Duncan, United States
  • Renk Test System GmbH, Augsburg, Germany
  • Renk Systems Corporation, Camby, United States
  • Renk Shanghai Services Commercial Co. Ltd, Shanghai, People's Republic of China
  • Renk Transmisyon Sanayi AS, Istanbul, Turkey
  • Renk UAE LLC, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
  • Cofical Renk Mancais do Brasil Ltda., Guaramirim, Brazil
  • Renk Gears India, Bengaluru, India
  • Renk Korea, Busan, South Korea
  • Damen Schelde Gears BV, Vlissingen, Netherlands
  • Horstman Holdings Ltd., Bath, England
  • Horstman Inc., Sterling Heights, USA
  • Horstman Systems Inc., Woodbridge, Canada

Product areas

At Renk AG, six product areas can be defined: automatic transmissions for tracked vehicles, industrial transmissions, marine transmissions, clutches, slide bearings and test systems. These product areas are not congruent with the four business areas of the company, which differentiate between vehicle transmissions, standard transmissions, plain bearings and special transmissions.

Automatic powershift transmissions for medium and heavy tracked vehicles

The automatic transmissions for tracked vehicles are manufactured in Augsburg and Saint Ouen l'Aumone. They are suitable for diesel engines and gas turbine drives, depending on the type for outputs from 300 to 1200 kW, and are available as so-called "T", "L" or "U" configurations for rear or front installation. The transmissions are electronically controlled and monitored and, in addition to the power shift gears, also contain the complete steering and braking system. In addition to the basic functions of a tracked vehicle transmission, other components of the drive train and suspension systems can also be supplied.

Industrial gear

Industrial gears are developed and built in Augsburg and Rheine as well as at the subsidiary Renk-Maag in Winterthur for many applications: including turbo spur gears in welded and cast housings, various planetary gears, gears for hydropower and wind power plants as well as for roller presses and conveyor belts . Special gearboxes are also manufactured individually, for example for power plants, cement factories, the rubber and plastics industry, the opencast mining industry or for transport and conveyor systems.

Marine gear

Ship gears are built in Augsburg, Rheine and Winterthur. The range of drives, mostly manufactured according to customer specifications, includes reversing gears from 1,000 kW up to complex gear systems for naval ships with 100,000 kW and more transmission power, with all the necessary control and monitoring systems. There are also gas turbines as well as special designs and systems for drives with electric motors. The marine gear units are used in the navy as well as in government vessels, yachts, research vessels, dredgers and other special vessels.

Couplings

Renk couplings are produced in Rheine, Hanover and Winterthur for all industrial sectors. The construction program includes a wide variety of coupling forms, which are offered for torques from 21 to 1,500 kNm.

bearings

Plain bearings are manufactured in both standard and special designs at the Renk factory in Hanover. With the help of calculation programs, some of which have been further developed in-house, the plain bearings are calculated and operating parameters are checked. 3D CAD programs also make it possible to meet special requirements.

Test systems

The subsidiary Renk Test System GmbH supplies test systems for research / development, production and quality assurance. The range of services also includes service and maintenance, the modernization of existing systems, test bench components and automation software for test systems.

criticism

Controversial arms exports

A significant part of the turnover of Renk AG is generated with the production of gearboxes for tanks and warships . In the past, there has been repeated criticism that armaments manufactured by German companies are also exported to crisis and conflict regions, contrary to legal provisions. In particular, exports to countries such as Saudi Arabia or Algeria were viewed critically.

Bribe affair

On September 29, 1993, Renk AG signed a contract with GIAT for the delivery of gearboxes for 436 Leclerc tanks . The turnover from this business amounted to around 100 million euros. The tanks were made for the United Arab Emirates. In order to get this order, Renk board spokesman Manfred Hirt and his deputy Norbert Schulze paid bribes totaling 5.13 million DM to Jean-Charles Marchiani and his “friend and neighbor” Yves Manuel. During this period Marchiani was an advisor to the French interior minister Charles Pasqua and later prefect of the Var department. A consulting contract dated September 19, 1993 with Irish Euro Agencies Ltd. served as a cover for the cash payment . The money was first deposited into an account at Westminster Bank in London and then transferred to two Swiss accounts at banks in Geneva.

Marchiani was sentenced to three years' imprisonment without parole and a fine of 150,000 euros for bribery. Yves Manuel received three years probation and a fine of 150,000 euros for complicity in bribing a public servant. The judgments against Hirt and Schulze under French law were also upheld by the Paris Court of Appeal in March 2007. Both received 18 months probation and fines of 100,000 euros each. On August 31, 2007, Manfred Hirt handed over the role of Spokesman for the Management Board of Renk AG to Florian Hofbauer and left the Management Board at the end of 2007.

Business figures

Information from the management report of the Renk Group for the 2018 financial year:

  • Incoming orders: EUR 529 million (previous year: EUR 434 million)
  • Sales: 502 million euros (previous year: 469 million euros)
  • Workforce 2,319 employees (previous year: 2,235 employees)
  • Operating profit: EUR 60 million (previous year: EUR 60 million)
  • Operating return: 12.0% (previous year: 12.8%)
  • Earnings per share: 6.25 euros (previous year: 6.30 euros)
  • Net cash flow: EUR 1 million (previous year: EUR 1 million)
  • Dividend proposal: distribution per share 2.20 euros (previous year: 2.20 euros)

outlook

Renk AG is planning a goods receiving and testing center in the newly emerging Oberottmarshausen industrial park for the beginning of 2019 . The size of the property is 6.7 hectares and already includes space for expansion. The transport connection to Augsburg is via a direct connection to the B 17 . The new location is 17 km from the company's headquarters on Gögginger Strasse in Augsburg.

The aim of the planned incoming goods and testing center is, on the one hand, to consolidate the currently rented external warehouse (approx. 20,000 m² of storage space distributed over six warehouses) into a separate external warehouse, and, on the other hand, to relieve the area of ​​the factory premises. There is also the aspect of enabling growth in the main plant.

literature

  • Günther Grünsteudel et al. (Ed.): Augsburger Stadtlexikon . 2nd Edition. Perlach-Verlag, 1998, ISBN 3-922769-28-4 , p. 749 .
  • Victor-Georg Hohmann: Augsburg economic almanac . Archive publishing house, 1952.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c RENK AG Annual Report 2018. (PDF) Renk AG, accessed on June 30, 2019 .
  2. ↑ RENK AG Annual Report 2019 , accessed on June 28, 2020.
  3. ↑ Volkswagen buys MAN and Renk. stadtzeitung.de, October 26, 2018, accessed June 30, 2019 .
  4. ↑ a b Renk Aktiengesellschaft: Announcement of the invitation to the Annual General Meeting on May 7, 2019 in Augsburg with the aim of Europe-wide distribution in accordance with Section 121 AktG. DGAP News, March 22, 2019, accessed June 30, 2019 .
  5. ↑ a b RENK AG, Claudia Ziegler: Triton concludes an agreement to acquire a majority stake in RENK AG. In: www.renk-ag.com. RENK AG, January 30, 2020, accessed on January 31, 2020 .
  6. ↑ a b REUTERS: Financial investor Triton wins contract for VW subsidiary Renk. In: reuters.com. January 31, 2020, accessed January 31, 2020 .
  7. ↑ Federal Gazette : Annual financial statements as of December 31, 2016
  8. ↑ These are Germany's greatest shooters. Handelsblatt, November 19, 2010, accessed on November 5, 2017 .
  9. ↑ a b RENK completes purchase of the Horstman armaments company. b4bschwaben.de, April 17, 2019, accessed June 30, 2019 .
  10. ↑ a b c d Horstman Group - Contact. Horstman Defense Systems Ltd., accessed June 30, 2019 .
  11. ↑ a b c RENK Aktiengesellschaft, Annual Report 2002 ( PDF ), p. 75 f.
  12. ^ A b Tina Grant: International Directory of Company Histories, Vol. 37 . St. James Press, Detroit 2001, ISBN 978-1-55862-442-9 ( [1] ).
  13. ↑ RENK Aktiengesellschaft, Annual Report 2002 ( PDF ), p. 77 f.
  14. ↑ a b RENK Aktiengesellschaft, Annual Report 2002 ( PDF ), p. 79.
  15. ↑ a b c 125 years of gearboxes from Augsburg - company portrait of Renk AG , in the magazine Antriebstechnik , 1998, ISSN 0722-8546, pages 8–9.
  16. ↑ RENK Aktiengesellschaft, Annual Report 2002 ( PDF ), p. 80.
  17. ^ Renk locations: Rheine
  18. ↑ Takeover maneuver : Volkswagen buys majority in MAN. spiegel.de, July 4, 2011, accessed June 30, 2019 .
  19. ↑ a b Transmission specialist Renk takes over Damen Schelde Gears BV (PDF) Press release . Renk AG, December 18, 2017, accessed on September 7, 2018 .
  20. ^ Renk Gears Private Ltd. connect2india.com, accessed June 30, 2019 .
  21. ↑ Drive technology and test systems for Korea. renk-ag.com, accessed June 30, 2019 .
  22. ↑ Renk Group. (PDF) Data, facts and products 2017. Renk AG, accessed on September 7, 2018 .
  23. ↑ RENK AG Annual Report 2017 (PDF) Renk AG, accessed on September 7, 2018 .
  24. ↑ Renk test systems. Renk AG, accessed on September 7, 2018 .
  25. ↑ The Executive Board - RENK AG. Retrieved June 14, 2017 .
  26. ↑ The Supervisory Board. Renk AG, accessed on September 7, 2018 .
  27. ↑ Lothar Evers, Rheine. (PDF) Chairman of the Works Council of Renk AG, Rheine. renk-ag.com, accessed on August 28, 2019 .
  28. ↑ Klaus Refle, Bobingen. (PDF) Chairman of the General Works Council of Renk AG, Chairman of the Works Council of Renk AG, Augsburg. renk-ag.com, accessed on August 28, 2019 .
  29. ^ Company Renk AG - commitment to the Hanover location . In: Metallzeitung . April 2008, p. 30.
  30. ^ IG Metall mourns Erwin Müller. igmetall-augsburg.de, January 14, 2013, accessed on August 28, 2019 .
  31. ↑ Busan location. Drive technology and test systems for Korea. Renk AG, accessed on September 7, 2018 .
  32. ↑ Saint Ouen l'Aumone location. Outstanding service and superior products. Renk AG, accessed on September 7, 2018 .
  33. ↑ Renk transmission diagnosis system. Renk AG, accessed on September 7, 2018 .
  34. ↑ Automatic powershift transmissions for medium and heavy tracked vehicles. Renk AG, accessed on September 7, 2018 .
  35. ^ Horstman Solutions. Horstman Defense Systems Ltd., accessed June 30, 2019 .
  36. ↑ Renk industrial gear units. Renk AG, accessed on September 7, 2018 .
  37. ↑ Winterthur location. Precision and engineering from Switzerland. Renk AG, accessed on September 7, 2018 .
  38. ↑ Customized Gear Units for LNG Carriers. (PDF) Dual-Fuel / Electric Propulsion. Renk AG, accessed on September 7, 2018 (English).
  39. ↑ REV / RSH Gear Boxes. (PDF) High performance, energy-efficient, reliable. Renk AG, accessed on September 7, 2018 (English).
  40. ↑ Renk ship propulsion systems. Renk AG, accessed on September 7, 2018 .
  41. ↑ Renk couplings. Renk AG, accessed on September 7, 2018 .
  42. ↑ Renk plain bearings. Renk AG, accessed on September 7, 2018 .
  43. ↑ Renk test systems. Renk AG, accessed on September 7, 2018 .
  44. ↑ a b Tödliche Jigsaw Puzzle , DIE ZEIT, June 6, 2013, accessed on October 29, 2017.
  45. ↑ Major order from the USA , b4b-Nachrichten of May 20, 2011, accessed on October 29, 2017.
  46. ^ German weapons for the Middle East , Deutschlandfunk-Magazin from March 16, 2017, accessed on October 29, 2017.
  47. ↑ a b Cour de cassation, criminelle, Chambre criminelle, 19 mars 2008, 07-82.124, Publié au bulletin. Judgment 07-82.124 of the French Court of Cassation. March 19, 2008, accessed September 7, 2018 (French).
  48. ↑ Renk sees land again despite the red numbers . In: Süddeutsche Zeitung . December 6, 1993, p. 32 .
  49. ^ Prison ferme pour Jean-Charles Marchiani. Le Monde, December 15, 2005, accessed September 7, 2018 .
  50. ↑ M. Marchiani a été double ment condamné en appel à la prison de ferme. Le Monde, March 1, 2007, accessed September 7, 2018 (French).
  51. ↑ Suspended sentences for Renk managers in corruption affair confirmed. 123recht.net, March 1, 2007, archived from the original on July 19, 2012 ; accessed on September 7, 2018 .
  52. ↑ Annual Report 2007. (PDF) Renk AG, archived from the original on March 4, 2013 ; accessed on September 7, 2018 .

Coordinates: 48 ° 21 ′ 9.6 ″  N , 10 ° 53 ′ 3.1 ″  E