Wikipedia

Fuchs SE

(Redirected fromFuchs Petrolub)

Fuchs SEis a Germanmultinationalmanufacturer oflubricants,and related speciality products.[1][2][3]

Fuchs SE
Company typeSocietas Europaea
FWB:FPE
IndustryChemicals
Founded1931
FounderRudolf Fuchs
HeadquartersMannheim,Germany
Number of locations
58 operating companies, 33 production plants
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Stefan Fuchs (CEO)
ProductsLubricants,speciality automotive chemicals
Revenue€3.4 billion (2022)
€365 million (2022)
Number of employees
6,104 (December 2022)
Websitewww.fuchs.com/group

The company's headquarters are atMannheim,Baden-Württemberg,Germany, where the company was founded in 1931. Fuchs is a public company listed on theFrankfurt Stock Exchange.As of 2008, it is a constituent of theMDAXtrading index of German mid-cap companies.[4]Fuchs is the largest independent lubricant manufacturer in the world.[5][6]

History

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Founding

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The company was founded by Rudolf Fuchs on May 30, 1931. It initially traded under the nameRudolf Fuchs,but was then renamedRudolf Fuchs Mineraloelwerkein 1939.[7][8]The company's Guaranteed Pennsylvania Motor Oil, under the brand Penna Pura, was produced and bottled in the Mannheim slaughterhouse and distributed to transport companies in theport of Mannheim.[6]In 1936, Fuchs developed his firsttransmission oiland opened the first branch inMunich.[9]

In 1937, he acquired a plot of land on Friesenheimer Island, where the new company headquarters were inaugurated in 1939.

World War 2 and the post-war period

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At the beginning ofWorld War II,Fuchs lost clients, who had to downsize their vehicle fleets and hand them over to theWehrmacht,as well as personnel, as the male employees were drafted into the war. He found new clients in the industry and from then on developed industrial oils.[6]

After the war, Fuchs set up a racing service formotorsportand was represented on majorracetracksfrom 1948, where multiple drivers used Penna Pura Racing Oil RC.[6]

After the death of Rudolf Fuchs in 1959, his son Manfred Fuchs took over the management of the company in 1963.[10][11]

International expansion

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In 1968, the first foreign subsidiaries were founded inFranceandSpain.[9]In 1972, the German business was spun off and made independent as Fuchs Mineraloelwerke GmbH. In 1975, the Group opened up to the capital market by founding Fuchs Beteiligungsgesellschaft KG. This was followed by the establishment of subsidiaries inAustria,Sweden,ItalyandBrazil.In 1978, the Titan brand replaced the name Penna Pura.[12]In 1981, Fuchs also entered theAustralian,AsianandAmericanmarkets.[13]In 1985, the company signed a joint venture agreement inChina,which led to the first production facility inYingkouin 1988.[14]By then, Fuchs was a group with 80 production and trading companies. In 1984, Fuchs Beteiligungsgesellschaft KG changed its name toFuchs Petrolub AG Oel + Chemie.[12][13]

IPO and investments

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As a result of the expansion and the associated costs, Manfred Fuchs decided to take the family business public. However, to ensure that the majority of votes remained in the family, the company initially issuedpreference shares.[9]On January 30, 1985, the company finally went public inFrankfurt,Stuttgartand later inZurich.From 1986, Fuchs also wentpublicwithordinary shares.[6][10]

In 1989, Fuchs Petrolub took over the French lubricant manufacturer Labo Industrie S.A. and the British lubricant manufacturer Silkolene, as well as Century Oils in 1991.[9][12]In 2000, around 4000 employees generated a turnover of around 900 million euros.[6][9]

On January 1, 2004, Manfred Fuchs left the company's Management Board and moved to the Supervisory Board as Deputy Chairman. His son Stefan Fuchs became the new Chairman of the Management Board.[10][11]

By 2006, turnover had risen to 1.2 billion euros. Fuchs' preference shares have been listed on theMDAXsince June 23, 2008.[9]In 2013, thestock corporationwas transformed intoFuchs Petrolub SE.Acapital increasewas carried out in 2014, partly to increase the trading liquidity of Fuchs shares. The number of shares was doubled as of June 4, 2014, while the market value was halved.[15]In the same year, Fuchs purchased the British Batoyle Freedom Group company of Norfolk.[16]

In 2016, the company initiated its largestinvestmentprogram to date. Around 300 million euros were invested in plant expansions and the construction of new production facilities worldwide. Between 2016 and 2018, for example, new grease plants were built in the USA andSouth Africaas well as new production facilities in Australia and Sweden. In addition, a new plant for lubricants was opened inWujiang,China, and the Asian headquarters and the research and development centre inShanghaiwere expanded and modernized. Most recently, a newpolyureaplant was built inKaiserslauternand a new office building at the Mannheim site.[17]Fuchs has also repeatedly taken over smaller, long-standing trading partners (including inEgypt,Australia,Finland,Italyand the USA) and sometimes larger manufacturers, including Statoil Fuel & Retail Lubricants AB (SFR Lubricants) (2015), Deutsche Pentosin-Werke GmbH (2015) and Nye Lubricants Inc. (2021).[18][19]

In 2017, Manfred Fuchs retired from the Supervisory Board; his successor was his daughter Susanne Fuchs.[10]In 2021, Fuchs took over the company Nye Lubricants.[20]

At the Annual General Meeting on May 3, 2023, it was decided to change the name from Fuchs Petrolub SE toFuchs SE.[21]

Corporate structure

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The company's headquarters are located in Mannheim on Friesenheimer Insel.[11]

In 2022, the company generated a turnover of 3.41 billion euros and employed 6,104 people. Fuchs operates 34 production sites and is represented by 56 subsidiaries in over 50 countries.[21]

With around 55% of ordinary shares, the Fuchs family holds the majority of votes. The remaining shares are in free float.[10][11]

Products

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Fuchs produces a wide range of products, which, include automotive lubricants, such as transmission oils, greases and engine oils, as well as lubricants for metalworking and industry, such as cooling lubricants, corrosion protection agents and cleaners. Fuchs also produces the Planto range ofbiodegradableproducts.[22]

With its investment in E-Lyte Innovations, a producer of liquid electrolytes for lithium-ion batteries, Fuchs also entered the market for electrolytes at the beginning of 2022.[23]

Since 2020, the Fuchs Group has been producingCO2-compensated products across all its manufacturing subsidiaries. Since 2021, all non-producing subsidiaries and all joint ventures have also been included in the goal of CO2 neutrality.[24][25]

Awards

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References

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  1. ^Matthews, Sheenagh (2015-11-03)."Fuchs Shares Drop as Demand for Lubricants Seen Stagnating".Bloomberg.Retrieved2016-04-19.
  2. ^Cremer, Andreas (2011-09-07)."Fuchs Petrolub, Jenoptik, Solarworld: German Equity Preview".Bloomberg.Retrieved2016-04-19.
  3. ^Randow, Jana (2015-11-05)."German Factory Orders Unexpectedly Decline for Third Month".Bloomberg.Retrieved2016-04-19.
  4. ^"MDAX Constituents".Frankfurt Stock Exchange.Deutsche Börse.Retrieved2016-04-19.
  5. ^Freytag, Bernd (2011-08-14). "Der Ölprinz".Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.Vol. 34. p. 32.
  6. ^abcdefRau, Harald (2006-05-24). "International erfolgreich mit Spezialitäten aus Öl".Handelsblatt.Vol. 100. p. 3.
  7. ^"Erfolgreicher Enkel".Börsen-Zeitung.Vol. 196. 2018-10-12. p. 11.
  8. ^Schauber, Daniel (2018-10-12). ""Ich will Interesse übergeben, nicht nur Geld"".Börsen-Zeitung.Vol. 196. p. 11.
  9. ^abcdefHofmann, Sigfried (2017-01-11). "Chronik Fuchs Petrolub. Schmierstoff für die ganze Welt".Handelsblatt.
  10. ^abcde"Manfred Fuchs 80".Börsen-Zeitung.Vol. 10. 2019-01-16. p. 12.
  11. ^abcdHofmann, Sigfried (2017-01-12). "Der Unternehmens-Bildhauer".Handelsblatt.Vol. 9. p. 22.
  12. ^abc"Gut geschmiert".Autohaus.Vol. 12/2009. pp. 88–90.
  13. ^abDominsky, Steffen (2011-01-27). "Die Marke Fuchs blickt mit Stolz auf 80 Jahre Schmierstoffkompetenz".kfz-betrieb.Vol. 801. p. 4.
  14. ^"Fuchs Petrolub eröffnet neues Werk".CHEManager.Vol. 21/2008.
  15. ^Billina, Schachinger (2023-02-17). "Kleine Werte, große Chancen".Euro am Sonntag.p. 16.
  16. ^Zientek, Henryk (2014-06-24)."Batoyle jobs in Milnsbridge at risk following sale to German company".Huddersfield Daily Examiner.Retrieved2016-04-19.
  17. ^"Fuchs-Gruppe investiert in Kaiserslautern".CHEManager.Retrieved2023-11-09.
  18. ^""Fuchs Petrolub ist robust". Stefan Fuchs, CEO des Mannheimer Schmierstoffkonzerns in dritter Generation, sieht das Unternehmen auf Kurs ".Finanz und Wirtschaft.2015-10-24. p. 11.
  19. ^Haas, Birgit (2020-02-08). "Mit dem Weltmarkt abgeschmiert". Vol. 6. p. 29.
  20. ^"Zeitreise".Fuchs.Retrieved2023-11-09.
  21. ^ab"Aus Fuchs Petrolub wird Fuchs".CHEManager.Vol. 7/2023. p. 5.
  22. ^Grether, Thomas. "Das Geschäft läuft wie geschmiert".Unternehmeredition „Private Equity/ M&A 2012 “.Vol. 04/2012. pp. 10–12.
  23. ^"Fuchs verstärkt E-Mobility-Business und steigt in Batteriemarkt ein".Europe Oil Telegram.Vol. 22/2022. p. 11.
  24. ^"Fuchs erweitert Umfang für CO2 -Neutralität".Europe Oil Telegram.Vol. 32/2021. p. 11.
  25. ^"Fuchs weitet eigene CO2-Ziele aus".Energie Informationsdienst.Vol. 31/2021. p. 17.
  26. ^Dominsky, Steffen (2014-07-18)."Fuchs: Auszeichnung durch VW".kfz-betrieb(in German).Retrieved2023-11-16.
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