Torpedo group

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Torpedo Garage Ansorg, Herrmann and Thomas GmbH & Co. KG

logo
legal form GmbH & Co. KG
founding 1928
Seat Kaiserslautern , GermanyGermanyGermany 
management Peter Ritter, Christian Ritter
Number of employees 1,179 (2018)
sales 336 million euros (2018)
Branch Automobile trade
Website www.torpedo-gruppe.de
As of December 31, 2018

The Torpedo Group is a group of companies active in the automotive trade with headquarters in Kaiserslautern , which was founded in 1928. The group with the parent company Torpedo-Garage Ansorg, Herrmann and Thomas GmbH u. Co. KG sells new and used passenger and commercial vehicles of the brands Mercedes-Benz , smart , Hyundai and Land Rover in five federal states, mainly in Rhineland-Palatinate , Saarland and Saxony .

history

Founding years

The company was founded in 1928 by Hermann Ansorg, August Herrmann and Karl Thomas as a car workshop with five employees. This initially served as a workshop for the delivery vehicles of the food wholesaler Ottmann-Thomas from Kaiserslautern , which had existed since 1845. A sales contract was signed with Mercedes-Benz in the year of foundation to sell cars and trucks in Kaiserslautern and other cities in Rhineland-Palatinate. Other brands sold in the early years were BMW , Fiat and Tempo .

Logo and company name

The group's logo originally showed three stylized torpedo boats , from which the company name is derived. According to the understanding of the early 20th century , it should symbolize modernity and technical progress. Today's logo of the group only quotes the original motif abstractly.

The Second World War and the years up to 1990

During the Second World War , the group’s dealerships were barely able to move passenger cars. The company buildings were also largely destroyed by bombing . In 1956 , a new company headquarters was established in Kaiserslautern under the management of Carl Philipp Ritter and Hans Schoeneich. The group is still based there today. In the years that followed, further branches were added in the surrounding towns, initially as repair shops and then as entire car dealerships . In 1973 Peter Ritter, the son of Carl Philipp Ritter, took over the management, which he still holds today.

Expansion after reunification

After German reunification , the Torpedo Group opened several branches in the new federal states in 1991 . Today the group has eight locations in Saxony and Brandenburg. In the following years, further car dealerships in Rhineland-Palatinate and Baden-Württemberg were taken over, so that the group now has 22 branches in five federal states.

21st century

Since 2000 , the group has also been selling the smart car brand, which, like Mercedes-Benz, belongs to Daimler AG . In 2003 the group had 532 employees. The US brands Chrysler and Jeep were also traded from 2002 to 2009 , and since 2011 models by the English manufacturer Land Rover . In 2015 the Torpedo Group acquired a subsidiary of Daimler AG in Saarland with 366 additional employees. The group has also been sponsoring 1. FC Kaiserslautern since 2016 . It is now (December 2018) run by the fourth generation of members of the Ritter family.

Current structure

The following companies belong to the Torpedo Group at this point in time (as of January 2019):

  • Torpedo Garage Pfalz GmbH & Co. KG
  • Torpedo Garage Saarland GmbH
  • Torpedo Garage Mannheim GmbH
  • TG Automobile GmbH
  • TG - Autohandelsgesellschaft mbH
  • TG Nutzfahrzeugehandelsgesellschaft mbH & Co. KG
  • TG Trucks GmbH
  • TG Ramstein GmbH

Key figures and awards

In 2016 the Torpedo Group had a turnover of around 308 million euros and employed 1,073 people, 150 of whom were trainees. In 2018 the group was recognized as one of six companies in the automotive trade with particularly attractive career prospects, and in 2018 the group was honored at the Internet Sales Award.

Web links

swell

  1. ↑ "Imprint", Torpedo Group website, accessed on November 23, 2018
  2. ↑ a b c Federal Gazette : Annual financial statements of Torpedo Garage Ansorg, Herrmann und Thomas GmbH & Co. KG as of December 31, 2016, accessed on November 23, 2018.
  3. ↑ a b "About Us", Torpedo Group website, accessed on November 23, 2018
  4. ↑ a b c d e f "History", Torpedo Group website, accessed on November 23, 2018
  5. ↑ a b c Press release on the 75th birthday of the Torpedo Group in 2003.
  6. ↑ "Torpedo-Garage buys MB-Niederlassung" on www.kfz-betrieb.de, accessed on November 22, 2018
  7. ↑ News from December 1, 2016, Torpedo Group website, accessed December 3, 2018
  8. ^ "Germany's career atlas" on the deutschlandtest.de site, accessed on November 23, 2018
  9. ↑ Report on www.kfz-betrieb.de, accessed on January 14, 2019.