Automotive supplier Bleistahl takes over Vaillant Group plant premises in Gelsenkirchen

Remscheid, 13 November 2017

• Bleistahl wants to continue growing with new site

• Vaillant Group emphasises importance of buyer’s long-term usage perspective

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’s corporate 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. Bleistahl wants 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 Bleistahl stands 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.