Bosch-Mahle Turbo Joint Venture For Sale
Bosch and Mahle said they’re looking for a buyer for theirjoint turbocharger business Bosch Mahle Turbo Systems (BMTS). The joint venturewas founded in 2008 and employs around 1400 people, developing and producingturbochargers for manufacturers of passenger cars and commercial vehicles.Production is largely based in St. Michael, Austria, and in Shanghai, China,along with two additional locations in Germany, Stuttgart and Blaichach.
While the venture has enjoyed some success, it is not yetlarge enough to achieve sustainable results, according to Dr. Rolf Bulander,chairman of the Business Sector Mobility Solutions at Bosch. “Large productionquantities and the associated economies of scale represent a criticalcompetitive advantage,” he said. “Despite bulk orders received from renownedcustomers, the associated high capacity utilization at our plants, andabove-average growth rates, present sales volumes at BMTS are still too low incomparison with our larger competitors and must be further expanded.”
Further investments are needed to achieve the scalerequired and both Bosch and Mahle need to focus investments chiefly on newareas of development.
“Thanks to our state-of-the-art locations and BMTS’s goodproducts, we are currently confident of finding a prospective buyer, who willsuccessfully expand the business,” said Wolf-Henning Scheider, chairman of theMahle management board and CEO of the Mahle Group.
The international market for turbochargers is expected tocontinue to grow in the years ahead as the trend toward smaller engines fittedwith turbochargers, especially for hybrid drives, remains strong, the companiessaid.
The company’s most recent achievement is the development ofa variable turbine geometry for exhaust gas turbochargers in gasoline enginesin large-scale production. In recent years, the company has made considerableinvestments in production processes, including end-of-line testing. BMTSclaimed to be the world’s first company to test the perfect functionality ofeach individual exhaust gas turbocharger in a fully automated process at theend of the production line.
Employee representatives and employees have been informedabout the intention to sell the joint venture. Discussions are taking placewith the relevant employee representatives to prepare the next steps in thesale process.