Beginnings
The company was founded in 1901 by Wilhelm Baier (1853–1917) in Esslingen in the Kingdom of Württemberg as "Eßlinger Draht- und Eisenwarenfabrik Wilhelm Baier, Eßlingen/Neckar". In 1908, the company headquarters were moved to Stockdorf, and the company was renamed Webasto. Initially, bicycle parts, wire items, and seeders were manufactured. The machines were powered by the hydropower of the Würm. [5] In the 1920s, Webasto focused on the production of bicycle parts such as fenders, gears, luggage racks, and handlebars. [1] In 1932, the first folding roof was developed for Daimler-Benz. This was then serially installed in buses starting in 1937, followed by cars like the Mercedes-Benz W 136. In between, in 1935, the next product was developed: the heater for cars with water-cooled engines, called Auto-Frischluftheizung, operated by a heat exchanger. During the Second World War, Webasto supplied Daimler-Benz with heaters and BMW with sheet metal parts. Additionally, individual parts for military equipment, such as seat belt boxes or drums for machine guns, were produced. During this period, 137 prisoners of war were employed as forced laborers at the company. [1]
After the War
In the post-war period, the company produced everyday metal items from materials left over from the Wehrmacht. In 1952, the company developed its first vehicle heaters for buses and motor-independent heaters for cars. From 1956, Webasto was a supplier of steel sliding roofs for Mercedes-Benz. From 1960 to 1982, Walter Baier was the managing director of the company.
In 1974, the first foreign subsidiary, Webasto Sunroofs Inc., was founded in the USA. Further subsidiary companies were established in Great Britain, France, Italy, the USA, Japan, China, and India. Werner Baier became the managing director of the company. Under his leadership, the company laid the groundwork for a successful future with reforms. Among other things, the company was divided into the roof and thermal departments. In South Korea, a joint venture was established with the automotive supplier Donghee. In 1980, roof production began in Utting am Ammersee. After Utting, Schierling followed in 1986 as the third Webasto plant in Germany. In 1992, Webasto established a new production facility in Neubrandenburg for the production of stand heaters. In 1999, Franz Josef Kortüm became the CEO of Webasto, succeeding Prof. Rudi Noppen, who had led the company since 1992 as the first external manager. Werner Baier had already assumed the chairmanship of the supervisory board in 1995. [1]
From 2000 Onwards
Due to the employment of prisoners of war as forced labor during the Second World War, Webasto also participated in 2000 in the "Remembrance, Responsibility, and Future" foundation initiative of the German economy for compensating Nazi forced laborers. In 2008, the new headquarters of Thermo & Comfort in Gilching was officially opened. [1] In 2009, Webasto acquired the convertible division of Edscha, and in 2010, it took over the North America business of Karmann. This made the company the market leader for convertible roofs. [1] In 2012, the group received a new corporate structure. Webasto AG was converted into a Societas Europaea (SE). At the same time, the two business areas for roof and thermal systems were legally separated: Webasto Roof & Components SE is responsible for the roof and convertible roof business, while Webasto Thermo & Comfort SE handles the heating, cooling, and ventilation systems business. [2] In the same year, Webasto acquired the Diavia air conditioning business for off-road and special vehicles, with the aim of becoming a leading system supplier for heating and cooling products in the off-highway and special vehicle market. [1] In 2013, Holger Engelmann was appointed as the successor to CEO Franz-Josef Kortüm. Kortüm had been at the helm of the company for 13 years. [6] With the opening of the location in Shenyang in July 2014, Webasto responded to the increased demand for sunroofs in China. [7] In 2017, the opening of the Baoding plant expanded the production network to increase production capacity in the largest single market for Webasto. [8]
On January 1, 2017, Webasto acquired the electronics service provider Schaidt Innovations, based in Wörth am Rhein - Schaidt. This acquisition provided the company with its own electronics manufacturing. [9] On August 2, 2017, Webasto acquired CoSyst Control Systems GmbH, a company specializing in hardware and software development in the automotive industry. [10]
In 2017, Webasto entered the market for electromobility with the development and production of charging technology and battery systems for electric vehicles. [11] In this context, Webasto acquired the EES business unit for charging stations from US company AeroVironment. [12] The new location of the Webasto Group with about 100 employees in Monrovia, California, was subsequently named Webasto Charging Systems Inc. [1] To supply battery cells, Webasto entered into individual agreements in 2018 with companies Samsung and Wanxiang. Webasto has been a partner of the Startup Autobahn platform, the German branch of the US-based Plug and Play Tech Center, since 2017. [13]
In 2018, the Webasto Group invested 271 million euros in research and development. The focus was especially on electromobility and mechatronics. [2]
In April 2019, Webasto acquired the shares of its South Korean joint venture partner Donghee. With this largest acquisition in the company's history, Webasto further strengthened its market position in Asia. [14] With the official opening of the Irapuato plant on August 20, 2020, Webasto expanded its production capacity in Mexico to meet the increased demand. Since 2008, Webasto has been producing roof systems for various automotive manufacturers at the plant in Mexico and Brazil, as well as components for its own plants in the USA. [1]
At the 2019 IAA, Webasto introduced the Roof Sensor Module (RSM) for autonomous driving. [15] Also in 2019, Webasto began the production of battery packs for electric vehicles in Schierling. Since the beginning of 2020, the site has also been producing the Webasto standard battery system for commercial vehicles. [1] In 2020, the company established a new plant for roof systems and a battery center in Jiaxing (China). [16]
In spring 2022, Webasto started the production of batteries for fully electric passenger cars at its new, state-of-the-art plant in Dangjin, South Korea, located south of Seoul. In August 2022, Webasto acquired the glass production unit Carlex Glass Luxembourg in Grevenmacher (Luxembourg), and the new site was renamed Webasto Luxembourg. [1]
In 2023, Webasto strengthened its presence in India with 2 new locations in Pune and Chennai. The two new plants supply international and local original equipment manufacturers in India with sunroofs. [1]
On February 7, 2024, Transom Capital Group and Webasto signed an acquisition agreement, with Transom taking a majority stake in Webasto's charging solutions division, while Webasto remained a minority shareholder. This allowed Webasto to focus more on its core businesses, while the charging business continued to operate at locations in Germany, the USA, and Mexico. [17]
