Fuchs SE is a German multinational manufacturer of lubricants, and related speciality products.[1][2][3]
The company's headquarters are at Mannheim, Baden-Württemberg, Germany, where the company was founded in 1931. Fuchs is a public company listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. As of 2008, it is a constituent of the MDAX trading index of German mid-cap companies.[4] Fuchs is the largest independent lubricant manufacturer in the world.[5][6]
The company was founded by Rudolf Fuchs on May 30, 1931. It initially traded under the name Rudolf Fuchs, but was then renamed Rudolf Fuchs Mineraloelwerke in 1939.[7][8] The company's Guaranteed Pennsylvania Motor Oil, under the brand Penna Pura, was produced and bottled in the Mannheim slaughterhouse and distributed to transport companies in the port of Mannheim.[6] In 1936, Fuchs developed his first transmission oil and opened the first branch in Munich.[9]
In 1937, he acquired a plot of land on Friesenheimer Island, where the new company headquarters were inaugurated in 1939.
At the beginning of World War II, Fuchs lost clients, who had to downsize their vehicle fleets and hand them over to the Wehrmacht, as well as personnel, as the male employees were drafted into the war. He found new clients in the industry and from then on developed industrial oils.[6]
After the war, Fuchs set up a racing service for motorsport and was represented on major racetracks from 1948, where multiple drivers used Penna Pura Racing Oil RC.[6]
After the death of Rudolf Fuchs in 1959, his son Manfred Fuchs took over the management of the company in 1963.[10][11]
In 1968, the first foreign subsidiaries were founded in France and Spain.[9] In 1972, the German business was spun off and made independent as Fuchs Mineraloelwerke GmbH. In 1975, the Group opened up to the capital market by founding Fuchs Beteiligungsgesellschaft KG. This was followed by the establishment of subsidiaries in Austria, Sweden, Italy and Brazil. In 1978, the Titan brand replaced the name Penna Pura.[12] In 1981, Fuchs also entered the Australian, Asian and American markets.[13] In 1985, the company signed a joint venture agreement in China, which led to the first production facility in Yingkou in 1988.[14] By then, Fuchs was a group with 80 production and trading companies. In 1984, Fuchs Beteiligungsgesellschaft KG changed its name to Fuchs Petrolub AG Oel + Chemie.[12]
As a result of the expansion and the associated costs, Manfred Fuchs decided to take the family business public. However, to ensure that the majority of votes remained in the family, the company initially issued preference shares.[9] On January 30, 1985, the company finally went public in Frankfurt, Stuttgart and later in Zurich. From 1986, Fuchs also went public with ordinary shares.[6][10]
In 1989, Fuchs Petrolub took over the French lubricant manufacturer Labo Industrie S.A. and the British lubricant manufacturer Silkolene, as well as Century Oils in 1991.[9][12]
The company's headquarters are located in Mannheim on Friesenheimer Insel.[11]
In 2022, the company generated a turnover of 3.41 billion euros and employed 6,104 people. Fuchs operates 34 production sites and is represented by 56 subsidiaries in over 50 countries.[21]
With around 55% of ordinary shares, the Fuchs family holds the majority of votes. The remaining shares are in free float.[10][11]
Fuchs produces a wide range of products, which, include automotive lubricants, such as transmission oils, greases and engine oils, as well as lubricants for metalworking and industry, such as cooling lubricants, corrosion protection agents and cleaners. Fuchs also produces the Planto range of biodegradable products.[22]
With its investment in E-Lyte Innovations, a producer of liquid electrolytes for lithium-ion batteries, Fuchs also entered the market for electrolytes at the beginning of 2022.[23]
Since 2020, the Fuchs Group has been producing CO2-compensated products across all its manufacturing subsidiaries. Since 2021, all non-producing subsidiaries and all joint ventures have also been included in the goal of CO2 neutrality.[24][25]
On January 1, 2004, Manfred Fuchs left the company's Management Board and moved to the Supervisory Board as Deputy Chairman. His son Stefan Fuchs became the new Chairman of the Management Board.[10][11]
By 2006, turnover had risen to 1.2 billion euros. Fuchs' preference shares have been listed on the MDAX since June 23, 2008.[9] In 2013, the stock corporation was transformed into Fuchs Petrolub SE. A capital increase was carried out in 2014, partly to increase the trading liquidity of Fuchs shares. The number of shares was doubled as of June 4, 2014, while the market value was halved.[15] In the same year, Fuchs purchased the British Batoyle Freedom Group company of Norfolk.[16]
In 2016, the company initiated its largest investment program to date. Around 300 million euros were invested in plant expansions and the construction of new production facilities worldwide. Between 2016 and 2018, for example, new grease plants were built in the USA and South Africa as well as new production facilities in Australia and Sweden. In addition, a new plant for lubricants was opened in Wujiang, China, and the Asian headquarters and the research and development centre in Shanghai were expanded and modernized. Most recently, a new polyurea plant was built in Kaiserslautern and a new office building at the Mannheim site.[17] Fuchs has also repeatedly taken over smaller, long-standing trading partners (including in Egypt, Australia, Finland, Italy and the USA) and sometimes larger manufacturers, including Statoil Fuel & Retail Lubricants AB (SFR Lubricants) (2015), Deutsche Pentosin-Werke GmbH (2015) and Nye Lubricants Inc. (2021).[18][19]
In 2017, Manfred Fuchs retired from the Supervisory Board; his successor was his daughter Susanne Fuchs.[10] In 2021, Fuchs took over the company Nye Lubricants.[20]
At the Annual General Meeting on May 3, 2023, it was decided to change the name from Fuchs Petrolub SE to Fuchs SE.[21]
