by: Harold Coglione
http://www.cheap-wheels-n-rims.com
Aftermarket wheels: For over 30 years the brand name BBS
has been synonymous with high-tech in the development and
production of light alloy aftermarket wheels for racing and
road cars. With its production plants in Germany and Italy
BBS Kraftfahrzeugtechnik AG is currently producing approximately
15.000 light alloy aftermarket wheels every day which are
sold both in the OE and the After Market business. The South
German company is considered as one of the world's leading
light alloy wheel manufacturers concerning quality and technology.
In May 2001, BBS was awarded the "Unternehmerpreis Mittelstand",
a prize designed for extraordinary innovative and successful
middle-size companies in Germany.
Since the very start of BBS - the three letters are the initials
of the two founders Heinrich Baumgartner and Klaus Brand as
well as the city of Schiltach in the Black Forest - motorsport
has been the "soul" of the company. Having started
by producing aftermarket wheels and aerodynamic parts for
racing cars, they later used their gained experience to produce
high-quality wheels for road cars. Since then, all BBS products
are built according to the high demands of racing. This is
visible in the combination of extreme strength and the least
possible weight, combined with an exclusive design. That's
the business secret that is responsible for 30 years of constant
growth for BBS.
There's a direct interaction between the long history of
BBS successes in motorsport and the constant progress in engineering
and modern production. "Only through continuous work
to keep and extend our technological advantage could we satisfy
our demanding customers from motorsport for such a long time"
says Klaus Baumgartner, responsible for marketing and design
with BBS. "Our clients from the car industry as well
as each customer who wants to give his car a special note
with sporty BBS alloys benefit from this fact. The same strict
quality norms apply to all our products."
Concerning technology, BBS holds a leading position world-wide.
Examples are the special rim rolling process that was especially
developed for Formula 1 and increases the density of the material
or the unique surface treatment through ball polishing. Furthermore,
BBS is the world's only alloy aftermarket wheel manufacturer
to produce it's own light metal alloy - and therefore keeps
absolute control over the quality of the materials used.
With its three subsidiaries in Italy, France and the United
States the company, which has taken the name of BBS Kraftfahrzeugtechnik
AG in 1987, is one of the world's leading manufacturers of
light alloy aftermarket wheels for road cars. In 2000, daily
approximately 12.500 wheels left the factories in Schiltach
and Ruina, Italy, every day. About half of the production
is directly sent to well-known car manufacturers like Audi,
AMG, BMW, DaimlerChrysler, Ferrari, Jaguar, Porsche, PSA-group,
Saab, Volvo and Volkswagen, the other half is sold in the
exclusive After Market and Tuning-business.
BBS Kraftfahrzeugtechnik AG continued its success story as
well in the new millennium: With a total turnover of about
150 million Euro the profit in the year 2000 mounted to a
record 8.2 million Euro. Through the first half of 2001, this
development continued: The company turnover through May 2001
has increased by 15 per cent compared to the same period in
2000. For the complete business year 2001 the company board
estimates a growth of about 10 per cent - a global turnover
of 165 million Euro should be achieved.
The number of BBS employees did also increase from 810 in
1999 to more than 1000 in the middle of 2001. Since the beginning
of 2001, staff has been recruited for the new plant in Herbolzheim,
where gradually 500 new jobs shall be created.
To satisfy the growing demand for BBS alloy aftermarket wheels
the company is extending its capacity by 100 per cent with
the new plant in Herbolzheim near Freiburg. The warehouse
and the painting plant, where also the wheels produced in
Schiltach get their final finish, have already been inaugurated.
The procedure used in the new painting department is unique
in the world: BBS has successfully developed an entirely new
painting technique that does not need highly toxic Chrome-IV-compounds.
The environment is protected by avoiding 130 tons of toxic
waste per year - a primary reason for the Federal Ministry
of Environment to support this innovative plant as a pilot
project.
This technology in the Herbolzheim factory was also the reason
for a prominent jury from business and politics to choose
BBS from among 281 candidates as the winner in the competition
for the "Unternehmerpreis Mittelstand". This prize,
launched by German DG Bank and the weekly "Die Woche",
was awarded in May 2001 and endowed with 40.000 marks. It
is designed to honour extraordinary innovative concepts which
secure the future of middle-size companies. For Heinrich Baumgartner,
CEO of BBS, this award proves that his company is on the right
track: "We're proud to have our company concept seen
as a certain role model for middle-size companies."
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