How the generation change can succeed

(From the IHK Magazine 11/2024)

At Batz + Burgel in Friedberg, corporate values and culture are preserved. The cooperation between the experienced and younger generations is proving to be a success factor.

This year, the Friedberg-based company Batz+Burgel, or B+B for short, is celebrating its 30th anniversary. With its origins in traditional metal wholesaling, the internationally active company, which currently employs 40 people, specializes in the production of high-precision metal parts, primarily made from aluminium, but also from heavy metals and selected steel. “Our expertise is increasingly appreciated. As a mechanical engineering supplier, we produce complex assemblies for the pharmaceutical packaging industry and, as a metalworking company, façade elements for high-rise buildings all over the world,” says Jürgen Burgel, founder and Managing Director of B+B. From the outset, the aim was to produce in-house in order to serve customers as individually as possible. Jürgen Burgel and Jürgen Batz founded their company in April 1964. As colleagues, they worked in a leading position in the sales department of a renowned metal wholesaler and agreed to start their own business together. To this end, they concluded a partnership agreement that was worked out down to the smallest detail. “Our tax advisor at the time really put us under pressure. We also had to and wanted to define contingencies of a personal nature so as not to jeopardize the existence of the company,” emphasizes Burgel.

Detailed shareholders’ agreement as the foundation
The areas of responsibility of the shareholders, the handling of innovative elements and the integration of family members into the company were precisely regulated. Burgel continues: “The partnership agreement is the foundation. This has now helped us enormously with the succession.” In addition, over the years the company has always treated each other with trust and respect and there is a clear division of roles.

Alexander Batz takes over his father’s shares
Two years ago, the generational change that was initiated in 2019 was completed in the company: Alexander Batz took over his father’s position and has been managing the company together with Jürgen Burgel ever since. As part of the generational change, Sales Manager Andreas Thoma joined the management team as an authorized signatory. Alexander Batz joined the family business back in 2003. As a trained wholesale and foreign trade merchant, he worked in various departments within the company. In 2010, shares from his father were transferred to him. “We spoke very openly with Jürgen Burgel, the equal partner, about my future role and I am very happy that I was given the opportunity to work independently at an early stage. Of course, I also made mistakes, but I was able to learn from them and develop further,” says Batz Junior. “After my father retired at the age of 75 and I was able to take over all of his shares, I work with Jürgen Burgel as a partner and managing director on an equal footing. I am very grateful for his trust and mutual appreciation,” he explains. The interplay of innovation and experience is essential for the company’s success. B+B is currently making a name for itself with international façade construction projects, for example for a hotel in New York’s Central Park or in Dubai, and as an innovation partner in the revolutionary Hyperloop project. In order to meet the increasing demand, the company is planning to expand production.

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