Hirschvogel: "Green" transformation underway

Created: 05/10/2022, 08:00

By: Boris Forstner

After years of pause in construction, the central building at the Hirschvogel headquarters in Denklingen will soon be finished.

© Hirschvogel

The Hirschvogel company, based in Denklingen and with a plant in Schongau, sees itself well prepared for the change from automotive supplier for the combustion engine to electromobility.

Denklingen – In 2019, Hirschvogel experienced its first small dip in sales for years, a small decline to 1.23 billion euros.

In 2020, on the other hand, the decline to 1.04 billion was dramatic, only in the previous year the 1.2 billion were reached again - with "decent profit", which is traditionally not reported, according to the new finance director Walter Bauer.

Short-time work rose to 24 percent last November, that's over now - and the path should continue to go steeply uphill, as Bauer said at yesterday's press conference: "We are planning sales of 1.4 billion euros this year, and if we no longer have Corona If we had no shortage of chips and delivery problems and also no consequences from the Ukraine war, we would have orders for 1.6 billion euros in sales for 2023," says Bauer.

Trim Hirschvogel for sustainability and comply with internationally applicable climate targets

It is rather unlikely that this will actually happen.

Those responsible already have to juggle almost every day when urgently needed materials cannot be delivered or a customer decides not to build cars because various parts are missing.

What gives Hirschvogel courage is the transformation that came up in almost every sentence.

In other words, the transformation from a classic automotive supplier for combustion engines to a supplier for electromobility, the "mobility of the future", as Managing Director Jörg Rückauf called it.

A number proves that the company sees itself as well positioned: 70 percent of the orders won last year are in the so-called "green business", ie not in the conventional area - an enormous value.

It was said that things continued in the first quarter.

"Green business" is another favorite word of the Hirschvogel managing directors, and it will be heard often in the years to come.

Because the new production manager Dirk Landgrebe wants to trim Hirschvogel for sustainability and comply with internationally valid climate targets.

Hirschvogel is anxious about a possible end to Russian natural gas deliveries

This includes the agri-photovoltaic system in Schongau, a pilot project.

This is intended to cover the base electricity load for the Schongau plant.

Something similar is planned in Denklingen, where the solar field planned for 2018 has still not been approved.

"When it comes to energy storage, we would like more help from politicians," said Landgrebe.

The company is concerned about a possible end to Russian natural gas supplies.

“We use gas 50 percent because we need constant temperatures between 600 and 800 degrees.

You can't replace that in the short term.” As an energy-intensive company, “a gas embargo would hit us hard,” says Landgrebe.

But those responsible prefer not to think about that, the ambitious plans are in the foreground.

174 million euros are to be invested this year, more than ever before in one year.

In Denklingen, where the huge central building with canteen is about to be completed after years of conscious slumber, 37 million euros are being invested, in Schongau, where construction of Hall 10 has begun, 28 million euros.

"We have also secured further plots of land in Schongau so that we can expand further if necessary," said Rückauf.

There are 1,000 employees there, 1,900 in Denklingen and around 6,300 worldwide.

By the way:

Opportunities in the field of electric motors

But recruiting is getting harder and harder.

Although Hirschvogel has 150 apprentices in the Schongau/Denklingen region alone, more specialists are always being sought.

In order to attract apprentices, everyone is provided with a modern notebook, and for 100,000 euros per year, Hirschvogel affords buses that pick up the apprentices at home on several routes in the morning, take them to the factory and drive them back in the evening.

"You have to offer something, otherwise you don't stand a chance," says Bauer.

On the other hand, Hirschvogel sees great opportunities in the area of ​​electric motors.

According to Rückauf, no more cars with combustion engines will be sold in Europe in 2035, "that's a huge challenge for us".

At the same time, traditional business should not be neglected.

Because the car manufacturers also have to take a two-pronged approach, they are looking for suppliers who are well positioned for both combustion engines and the electrical sector.

"We hear that again and again," says Landgrebe.

Only recently, a well-known German car manufacturer in China won the tender for an engine part.

"We want to be the last manufacturer to still offer parts for the combustion engine, the last man standing," said Bauer.

At the same time being a leader in electromobility – that is the art that Hirschvogel wants to create.

Hirschvogel: The new managing directors are turning the company upside down

Yesterday's press conference was the first public appointment of the new managing director trio Jörg Rückauf (56), Walter Bauer (52) and Dirk Landgrebe (56).

"Until recently, we used video conferences internally, too," said Rückauf, who started around six months later than his two colleagues last July.

Even the entire phase of the talks to convince Rückauf to switch from the Mahle Group to Hirschvogel only took place remotely.

says Rückauf in retrospect.

So far he hasn't regretted it for a second.

The three Hirschvogel shareholders (Marc Hirschvogel, Hans-Jürgen Britzger and the Hirschvogel Foundation) wanted to reorganize themselves in the management after Alfons Hätscher and Thomas Brücher, two of the three managing directors alongside Frank Anisits, had retired in the foreseeable future.

It made sense

, said Britzger and Armin Maudrich from the Hirschvogel Foundation.

Landgrebe and Bauer have been with Hirschvogel for many years, sometimes with interruptions. Only Rückauf was brought on board as an external person – and immediately appointed CEO.

So far, the three chairmen have had equal rights.

This is one of the many changes that have been tackled at Hirschvogel.

The fact that a boss is needed in the trio of managing directors is related to the size of the company, said Britzger - you need someone who can make the decision alone in an emergency.

"So far, however, we have decided everything amicably, we get along well," emphasized Rückauf.

However, he also spoke of Hirschvogel as a "group" - new words for the company, which likes to see itself as a medium-sized family business.

A significant change is the change of name:

, which is a clear indication that we are moving away from being purely an automotive supplier.

The

: there are now three divisions, in addition to the complete production, one for majority companies and one for minority companies.

Some holdings were given up, some were brought into the company.

Rückauf has already announced that it will keep its eyes open for further investments – Hirschvogel may be more active there than it has been in the past.

Here you can find more current news from the region around Schongau and Weilheim.