Bitzer takes majority stake in Wurm

GERMANY: Compressor manufacturer Bitzer has taken a majority stake in Wurm, a leading German manufacturer of refrigeration and air conditioning data transmission and monitoring systems.

Bitzer and Remscheid-based Wurm have signed a joint venture agreement in which Bitzer will be the majority shareholder of the newly established Wurm Holding GmbH from 1 January 2019. All national and international Wurm companies will be integrated into the new holding company. The cooperation is still subject to the approval of the competition authorities.

As a managing partner, Dr Horst Peter Wurm will join the management of the new Wurm Holding GmbH and will step down from the operational management of the individual Wurm companies in mid 2019. In the holding company, he will supervise the long-term development and strategic orientation of the group in coordination with Bitzer. The companies say that no changes will be made to the management of the Wurm Group.

Bitzer and Wurm are said to have had previous associations for more than a decade and often exchange ideas about technological challenges in the refrigeration and air conditioning industry.

“We realised how much we could profit from one another technologically and stimulate the market in these challenging times,” said Bitzer’s Rainer Große-Kracht, member of the management board and chief technology officer.

The Wurm Group is a leading provider of automation systems for refrigeration systems and technical building management in retail in Germany and Europe. Established in 1872 and based in Remscheid, Germany, the company generated sales of €55m in 2017, employs more than 220 personnel and has decades of expertise in automation technology for commercial refrigeration. Wurm is also a leader in data transmission and is considered a pioneer in the sector. The group has sites in Germany, Switzerland, Austria and Benelux.