Eberspächer

The Eberspächer Group of Companies, with headquarters in Esslingen am Neckar, Germany, is a privately owned family business that is an international automotive supplier with around 80 locations in 29 countries. Customers include almost all major manufacturers of passenger cars and commercial vehicles. It is one of the leading system developers and suppliers of exhaust technology, vehicle heaters and air-conditioning systems worldwide and is also involved in automotive electronics for electronic networking in the vehicles.

History 

Master tinsmith Jakob Eberspächer founded the company in 1865, which soon specialized in metal-framed roof glazing. In 1914 the factory starts operating on the site of its present-day plant in Esslingen.
1931 starts the production of mufflers and 1933 the development of vehicle heating systems. During the post-war emergency Eberspächer produces products such as prostheses, metal cases and small cookers.

Pre-heaters for the VW Beetle went in mass production 1953. In 1960 Eberspächer took over the Neunkirchen metal works in the Saarland and set up a silencer production facility there.

Development of particulate filters for passenger cars begins in 1978. In the 1980s the company invested intensively in internationalisation: production facilities are established in France, Sweden and Switzerland. During the 1990s Eberspächer established further subsidiaries in South Africa, Czech Republic, the US, Brazil, England and Poland.

The electrical auxiliary heaters of the catem subsidiary went in series production in 1999.

In the 2000s the Research and Development Center in Detroit as well as the North America catalytic converter plant came on stream. The firm offered tools for electronic networking with automobile bus systems for the first time in 2008. In August 2014 Eberspächer has transferred its wholly owned subsidiary Eberspächer Electronics GmbH & Co. KG, based in Göppingen, to STAR COOPERATION Group, based in Böblingen.

In 2010 the company acquired Sütrak and enters the bus and coach air-conditioning market. In the same year, it took over of the Prototechnik division of Ricardo Deutschland GmbH, a firm specializing in lightweight design of exhaust systems.

Eberspächer opened in June 2013 new Asia headquarters and production site in Shanghai/China.

In September 2016 the Eberspächer Group acquired a majority stake in the Canadian company Vecture Inc. Eberspaecher Vecture Inc. offers battery management products for industrial applications, medical technology and vehicles. 

In 2018 Eberspaecher expanded its expertise as a vendor of thermal management systems. The automotive supplier acquired 100 percent of the shares in French company Kalori SAS. The climate control specialist based in Lyon, France, develops and produces air-conditioning and ventilation systems for commercial and special vehicles.

Products

Fuel Operated Heaters 

 Parking Heater Systems (motor independent water- and air-heaters with power between 1 and 35 kW) for passenger cars, commercial vehicles, construction machines and boats. (link Gasoline heater)
 Auxiliary Heaters for consumption-optimized direct injection cars (diesel or petrol) as well as electric and hybrid vehicles. 
 Technical Support by international subsidiaries and over 13,000 service partners and specialized dealers worldwide.

Electrical Heaters 

Eberspächer catem specializes in electrical auxiliary heaters. The PTC heater can be adapted to the requirements of any vehicle model and used as a de-central system, too; e.g. as head-space heating system in a convertible located in the headrest. Serial production of high-voltage heating systems (up to 500 V, up to 7 kW) for hybrid, electrical and fuel-cell vehicles is located in Germany (Herxheim, Pfalz).

Exhaust Technology 
 
 Exhaust-gas after-treatment, noise damping, sound design 
 Complete exhaust gas systems, catalytic converters, particulate filters, silencers, tubes, manifolds for passenger cars and commercial vehicles (on-road / non-road)
 As system developer / system supplier Eberspächer provides logistical full-service with just in sequence production through on-site assemblies at vehicle manufacturers plant gates.

In January 2014 Eberspächer started production at the new site in the Saxon city of Wilsdruff, Dresden. The new plant is customised especially to the production of commercial vehicle exhaust systems in accordance with the Euro 6 standard, which has been applicable for all commercial vehicles in Europe since 1 January 2014.

Since the end of 2011 the company has developed and produces exhaust systems for medium- and heavy-duty vehicles in Sweden.

The North and South America business for commercial vehicles exhaust systems is served from the production site in Brighton, Michigan, which was enlarged in 2016. The plant is specifically designed for the production of exhaust systems that meet the strict EPA 2010 emissions standard and serves as a "center of excellence". 

European manufacturing capacities of exhaust systems for passenger cars were expanded in 2016 through a new plant in Romania and the construction start of a production site in Portugal.

Air Conditioning 

Eberspächer Sütrak develops, manufactures and sells of a comprehensive range of climate solutions for buses with conventional as well as electric, fuel-cell or hybrid drive. The subsidiary has plants in Germany (Renningen), India and Brazil. Air-conditioning systems of special-purpose vehicles are made too.

Automotive Controls 

The Automotive Controls division, provides a variety of vehicle electronics applications, such as electronic control units for start-stop systems or control units for vehicle heaters. This division also develops and manufactures electronic systems such as systems for the electrical interim storage of reclaimed braking energy. The subsidiary Eberspächer Controls is a specialist for electronic controls and for switching and distributing high voltages in the vehicle. The subsidiary has its own production facility in Landau/Pfalz (Germany) and supplies automotive manufacturers.

Production Sites 

The production sites for fuel operated heaters and electrical heaters are located in Germany, England, Poland and China, for air conditioning systems in Germany, Brazil, India and Mexico. Exhaust Technology sites are based in Germany, France, Czech Republic, England, Sweden, South Africa, USA, Brazil, Mexico,  Portugal, Romania, India, Russia and China. Production of automotive electronics is based in Germany.

Performance Indicators fiscal Year 2018  

 Revenue: 4,610.4M €
 Revenue generated abroad as a % of total revenue: 71.8%
 Capital expenditures: 86.8M €
 Research and development expenses: 162.4M €
 Number of employees: 9,862

References

External links 
 Eberspächer Homepage

Category:Auto parts suppliers of Germany