Automotive supplier Bleistahl takes over
Vaillant Group plant premises in Gelsenkirchen

  • Bleistahl wants to continue growing with new site
  • Vaillant Group emphasises importance of buyer’s long-term usage perspective

Remscheid/Gelsenkirchen, 13 November 2017 – The Vaillant Group production site in Gelsenkirchen has been sold to Bleistahl, a medium-sized family-run company from Wetter (Ruhr). The handover will take place in the second quarter of 2018. Bleistahl, a materials specialist for engine components, produces valve seat inserts and valve guides for combustion engines. The third-generation family-owned company has around 700 employees working at five international sites and continues its expansion plans with this acquisition. “For our production and development facilities, we need new capacities in addition to our site in Wetter. The grounds in Gelsenkirchen enable us to be a strong partner for growth in Germany and Europe and to invest on a large scale,” says Dr Ekkehard Köhler, CEO of Bleistahl. The sale includes the land as well as all the buildings. Taking over these premises in Gelsenkirchen is one of the biggest investments in Bleistahl’scorporate history. With a view to the fourth generation of owners, the automotive supplier is planning to first set up a technical centre and a centre of competence for valve guides, thus laying strong foundations for the future.

Long-term usage plans

The Vaillant Group announced in 2015 that its production of heat pumps and combined heat and power systems would gradually be moved to the company’s headquarters in Remscheid in order to bundle its complex development and production activities there. The Vaillant service company Tecbytel will stay at the Gelsenkirchen site as a tenant. “We had received bids from several potential buyers. When making our decision, what was important to us was long-term plans of usage. Bleistahlwants to continue to grow at the Gelsenkirchen site and to create jobs in industry,” says Dr Jens Wichtermann, company spokesman of the Vaillant Group. “The Gelsenkirchen municipal administration supported the sales process extensively and facilitated a speedy sale of the premises.”

“In Bleistahl, Gelsenkirchen has found another economic operator active on an international scale and enabled a new, sustainable usage of the former Vaillant premises,” says Mayor Frank Baranowski. “The arrival of Bleistahlstands for the creation of additional jobs in industry and for the strengthening of the industrial centre of Gelsenkirchen. This once again proves the success of Gelsenkirchen’s long-term economic policy.”

BLEISTAHL is a third-generation family-owned and run company headquartered in Wetter in the Ruhr area. As a development partner for the automotive industry, BLEISTAHL has been developing and producing valve seat inserts and valve guides for combustion engines since 1954. The company has a total of almost 700 employees at five international sites. As a specialist for high-temperature-resistant materials, BLEISTAHL supports its customers in developing innovative low-emission engines. The products are used in cars, trucks, industrial engines, motor sports, sports planes and fun vehicles.

The Vaillant Group is an internationally active company based in Remscheid, Germany, which operates in the fields of heating, ventilation and air-conditioning technology. As one of the global market and technology leaders, the Vaillant Group develops and manufactures customised products, systems and services to provide a comfortable living environment. Its product portfolio ranges from efficient heating devices based on conventional energy sources to system solutions for using renewable energy. In the financial year 2016, the company, which has been family-owned since its foundation in 1874, generated sales of around 2.4 billion euros with its workforce of over 12,000.

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Contact BLEISTAHL

Dr Ekkehard KöhlerPhone: 02335 976195

Managing PartnerE-mail:

BLEISTAHL Produktions-GmbH & Co. KGWeb:

Osterfeldstr. 51, 58300 Wetter

Katja Blum (PR)Phone: 02335 976195

Assistant to Managing PartnerE-mail:

BLEISTAHL Produktions-GmbH & Co. KGWeb:

Osterfeldstr. 51, 58300 Wetter

Contact Vaillant Group

Dr Jens Wichtermann Phone:02191 18-2754

Director Group Communications,Mobile:0175 2951810

Sustainability Management & Politics E-mail:
Vaillant GroupWeb:

42850 Remscheid

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