IEN Europe: Dr. Büchsner, the Stabilus Group has just completed the acquisition of Destaco. What do you expect from this investment?
Dr. Büchsner: Both immediate and long-term effects. We’ll now be able to serve the market with a considerably broader line-up of products and comprehensive system solutions. Furthermore, Destaco is another component of our strategy for the future. In our Strategy 2030, we’ve set clear goals for how we want to shape the motion control market. In addition to organic growth, we’ll continue to look out for potential acquisitions that make a good fit with our company.
IEN Europe: Let’s focus first on the added value for your customers. Who can benefit from your combined portfolio – and how?
Dr. Büchsner: Our products and solutions are ideal for a wide range of manufacturing companies. Since the pandemic, we’ve seen that more and more companies are shifting their production back from emerging markets to industrialized countries. Due to the higher production costs and a decline in qualified workforce, companies are necessarily looking to increase their use of robotics and automation, which have since emerged as genuine megatrends.
With our combined portfolio, we can now offer these companies attractive and competitive solutions for all motion control tasks. While the products of the Stabilus Group are meant for controlled motion sequences and exact vibration isolation, Destaco’s components – including power clamps, end-of-arm tools, and grippers – are used for robotics and automation. Our customers can use all these solutions to boost their productivity and build manufacturing lines based on innovative technologies.
IEN Europe: Yes, but there’s no shortage of suppliers in the automation sector. What’s special about Destaco?
Dr. Büchsner: Our experts have studied the market intensively. In Destaco, they found a high degree of alignment with our own company, much greater than just a technological fit. Both partners have a long history – Destaco was founded in 1915, Stabilus in 1934 – and in both cases, this stability is paired with an ability to continually innovate and generate steady growth. Both companies have close, longtime customer relationships and established distribution networks that complement each other ideally. The potential to grow faster together than alone is very high for both partners. And so we’re very pleased now that the acquisition has been finalized after the purchase agreement was signed on October 11, 2023 and the authorities granted the necessary approvals.
IEN Europe: How have the management and staff reacted to the change?
Dr. Büchsner: Positively. We made it clear from the beginning that we want to develop Destaco further. The Destaco brand, with which the company’s employees identify to a great degree, will be retained as an independent expert brand under the roof of the Stabilus Group; the same goes for its product portfolio, which we want to combine with our own very soon so that we can offer our customers a complete range of products and solutions. And of course, we’ll continue to provide a comparable level of employee benefits to our new colleagues, including the different global 401(k) plans – based on the US model – without interruption. And we are very happy that Stefan Eggers will continue to serve as Destaco’s CEO.
As for our own employees within the Stabilus Group, we can assure them that there will be no overlaps or redundancies in the portfolio and therefore no jobs are threatened by the acquisition. On the contrary, we expect to continue on a sustained growth course under our STAR 2030 strategy. Destaco will now be a part of that. Furthermore, our sound finances give us the financial flexibility to continue growing our core business in a targeted manner.
IEN Europe: How will the cooperation between Stabilus and Destaco develop in the near future and when will it become visible?
Dr. Büchsner: Destaco is now also an important expert brand within the Stabilus Group, like 5 other brands that already belong to the Group in the industrial sector.
It is important, as I have already mentioned, that the Destaco brand remains the same strong brand together with its product lines such as Robohand or Camco. Just like all the other industrial brands of the Stabilus Group.
The benefits of the integrated offering will be felt by our customers, especially on the sales side. For example, we expect the first joint automation trade fairs for Destaco and our expert brand ACE to take place from October this year.
IEN Europe: You mentioned your strategy STAR 2030. What is that, exactly, and what role does the acquisition of Destaco play in it?
Dr. Büchsner: With STAR 2030, we want to shape the future from a strong position. One of the most pressing strategic goals is to expand our industrial business – our second most important segment after the automotive business – through continuous growth and position our company as a solutions provider to an even greater degree. Destaco’s expertise and capabilities will play an important role in this endeavor. They too are part of our future motion control ecosystem, with which we want to achieve our vision of being the world market leader in smart motion control technologies by 2030. We’ve communicated the substantive elements of STAR 2030 to our employees in detail since it was adopted in July 2022. And it’s plain to see that they are “living” our vision and strategy every day.
IEN Europe: Are you planning further acquisitions to achieve your goals, or are you satisfied with the current set-up of the Stabilus Group?
Dr. Büchsner: Since 2016, we’ve pursued a strategy of supporting and accelerating our organic growth with external acquisitions. The successful integration of our expert brands proves that this strategy has been successful. That being said, we operate in a dynamic market in which chances to realize attractive synergies could present themselves in the future. We will analyze such chances carefully. And so we do not wish to rule out further, well-reasoned acquisitions to further extend the Stabilus Group’s market position.
IEN Europe: Thank you very much for your time, Dr. Büchsner.
