Preh GmbH is a globally operating group of companies headquartered in Bad Neustadt an der Saale in Bavaria. As an automotive supplier, Preh manufactures driver control systems in the interior, sensor systems and control units for passenger cars and commercial vehicles. In addition, the Electro mobility division develops and produces innovative system solutions for electric and hybrid vehicles. Around 7,000 employees work for the subsidiary of the Chinese group Joyson Electronics at locations in Germany, Portugal, Romania, Mexico, Sweden, the USA and China.
Table of contents
• 1 History
o 1.1 1919–1945: The founding years
o 1.2 1945–1971: New beginning
o 1.3 1971–1993: Crisis and reorientation
o 1.4 1993–2003: The Rheinmetall-era
o 1.5 2003–2007: Change of shareholders and Management-Buy-out
o 1.6 2008–2009: Financial crisis and global recession
o 1.7 Ab 2010: Pure automotive supplier and Chinese shareholder
• 2 Products
• 3 Locations of the Preh Group
• 4 Weblinks
• 5 Itemizations
History
1919–1945: The founding years
Preh GmbH was founded by Jakob Preh on March 11, 1919. In a former inn in Bad Neustadt an der Saale, the company initially manufactured electrical installation materials and accessories for the still-new radio industry. Preh introduced its first own radio set in 1924: the two-tube receiver "Preh-Funk". In 1932, Preh also temporarily entered the production of electric car accessories; car turn signals and taillights were produced. Complicated official acceptance procedures, but also difficulties of a technical nature, led to the decision to abandon the production of radio receivers again and to switch the company to the manufacture of precision parts for radio sets. In 1938, the company was renamed to Preh Elektromechanische Feinwerke Jakob Preh Nachf. The company employed 1200 people. In the last days of the war in 1945, the company founder Jakob Preh was killed. [4] His wife Agnes Preh and his son Walter Preh continued to run the company.
1945–1971: New beginning
After the Second World War, the company made a fresh start and in the fall of 1949 initially began producing toys, such as remote-controlled tin cars and dolls made of polystyrene. From 1960 onwards, the company concentrated exclusively on the production of electromechanical components and thus entered the television market. At this time, Preh manufactured potentiometers, tuning memories (preostats, memostats, etc.) and connectors. In 1969, Preh celebrated its 50th anniversary and achieved a turnover of 93 million DM with a workforce of 3900 employees. The company founded Electromecanica Portuguesa, a production facility in Trofa, Portugal, in 1970.
1971–1993: Crisis and reorientation
After the death of Walter Preh in 1971, his wife Rosemarie took over the management. At the end of the 1980s, the company withdrew from consumer electronics [5] and once again became involved in automotive electronics. A shift in the core business away from consumer electronics to keyboards, automotive technology and industrial equipment was made and worldwide sales activities were strengthened. A sales office was established in Singapore, and at the same time Preh Electronics Industries Inc. was founded in Chicago to serve the American market. In the same year, toolmaking was spun off into an independent division. Preh manufactured potentiometric sensors and climate control systems for European car manufacturers and suppliers.
1993–2003: The Rheinmetall-era
In 1993, Rheinmetall AG acquired a majority shareholding in Preh. [6] There was a further concentration on operating systems for the automotive industry. In 2000, the Preh Group achieved sales of 220 million euros with 1947 employees. From then on, major orders positioned Preh as an automotive supplier.
2003–2007: Change of shareholders and Management-Buy-out
In 2003, Rheinmetall sold the Preh Group to Deutsche Beteiligungs AG. Family shareholder Rosemarie Preh and the Preh management also became shareholders in the company as part of a management buyout. On August 16, 2005, Rosemarie Preh passed away at the age of 84. In the same year, a customer service center was opened in the Detroit area to develop the North American automotive market. In 2005 and 2008, plants were established in Monterrey (Mexico) and Brașov (Romania). In the course of globalization and specifically for the North American market, a Customer Service Center was opened in Novi/Detroit in 2003 for the Automotive business unit. This was followed in 2005 by the establishment of a production site in Monterrey, Mexico. In 2007, the PrehKeyTec (data entry systems, cash register keyboards) [7] and PrehTronics (EMS service provider) divisions were transferred to independent limited liability companies. The latter was sold to the French Lacroix Group at the beginning of 2008. [8]
2008–2009: Financial crisis and global recession
Preh Romania S.R.L. was founded in 2008. In 2009, production of switches for multifunction steering wheels and climate control systems began in Brașov (Romania). Despite the dramatic slump in the global automotive economy in 2008, Preh GmbH's development was comparatively stable. Taking into account the sale of PrehTronics GmbH in 2008, the Preh Group's sales of around 305 million euros were only slightly below the comparable figure for the previous year. In January 2009, Preh established a sales office in Shanghai, China.
Since 2010: Pure automotive supplier and Chinese shareholder
PrehKeyTec was taken over by the management in 2011 (management buy-out). Since then, Preh has been a pure automotive supplier. Sales increased to EUR 412 million (2010: EUR 351 million). The number of employees increased by 330 to 2,800 worldwide at the end of 2011. Since the end of June 2011, the Joyson Group from Ningbo/China held 74.9 percent of the shares in Preh GmbH, while Deutsche Beteiligungs AG, Frankfurt a. M., and the management held a total of 25.1 percent. Joyson Automotive is part of the Joyson Group of companies based in Ningbo. The automotive division consists of the operating companies Joyson Automotive Ningbo, Changchun Joyson, Bosen Corporation Ningbo and Huade Plastics Shanghai. [9] On December 17, 2012, the Joyson Group acquired the remaining 25.1 percent from Deutsche Beteiligungs AG. Jeff Wang, Joyson majority shareholder, took over the seat on the supervisory board at Preh. The Preh Group joins Automotive Components as Automotive Electronics in the Joyson Group. [10]
In 2014, IMA Automation, founded in 1975, was incorporated into the Preh Group. The manufacturer of automation solutions was transformed into IMA Automation Amberg GmbH in 2015. [11] On January 29, 2016, the Preh Group and its parent company, the Joyson Group, each took over 50 percent of the 1,200-employee TechniSat Automotive division of TechniSat Digital GmbH, with locations in Dresden, Dippach, Poland (Oborniki Slaskie), and Daun. [12] This part operates as Preh Car Connect, with headquarters in Dresden. [13] The Preh Group began to grow with the 2010 financial year. Between 2010 and 2014, the number of employees increased by more than 70 percent. From 2010 to 2015, the Preh Group's sales increased by more than 10 percent annually. In 2016, sales exceeded the one billion euro mark for the first time.
Products
• Climate Control: Development and manufacturing of climate control systems including climate control software. Developments include a fanless temperature sensor that uses the same calculation method for both heating and cooling and is based on a combination of NTCs.
• Central Controls: Specialization in the development of central operating systems. This includes integrated operating solutions for the center stack, user interfaces for infotainment, and switches for multifunction steering wheels and driver assistance.
• Sensor Systems: Supplier of sensors for automotive applications, in particular position sensors for demanding operating conditions, such as for measuring brake pad wear, throttle valve sensors or sensors for level measurement. Depending on the application, different measuring principles are used.
• Electric mobility: Development and production of battery management control units for hybrid and electric vehicles. Likewise, a DC/DC converter and a high-voltage booster are part of the scope of services (both in series production since 2019).
Locations of the Preh Group
• Germany, Bad Neustadt an der Saale: Headquarters
• Germany, Werra-Suhl-Tal: Research and development
• Portugal, Trofa: Preh Portugal, Lda / Production site
• Mexico, Monterrey: Preh de México S.A. de C.V. / Production site
• Romania, Brașov: S.C. Preh Romania S.R.L. / Production site
• Romania, Ghimbav: S.C. Preh Romania S.R.L. / Production site
• Romania, Iasi: S.C. Preh Romania S.R.L. / Production site
• China, Ningbo: Ningbo Preh Joyson Automotive Electronics Co.,Ltd. / Production site
• Sweden, Göteborg: Preh Sweden AB
• USA, Novi (Michigan): Preh, Inc. / Customer Service Center
Weblinks
• Website of Preh
Itemizations
1. ↑ Geschäftsführung. Preh GmbH. Archiviert vom Original am 18. März 2016. Info: Der Archivlink wurde automatisch eingesetzt und noch nicht geprüft. Bitte prüfe Original- und Archivlink gemäß Anleitung und entferne dann diesen Hinweis. Abgerufen im 2016-13-14.
2. ↑ Aufsichtsrat. Preh GmbH. Archiviert vom Original am 18. März 2016. Info: Der Archivlink wurde automatisch eingesetzt und noch nicht geprüft. Bitte prüfe Original- und Archivlink gemäß Anleitung und entferne dann diesen Hinweis. Abgerufen am 1. März 2016.
3. ↑ Hochspringen nach: a b Daten & Fakten. Preh GmbH. Archiviert vom Original am 18. März 2016. Info: Der Archivlink wurde automatisch eingesetzt und noch nicht geprüft. Bitte prüfe Original- und Archivlink gemäß Anleitung und entferne dann diesen Hinweis. Abgerufen am 1. März 2016.
5. ↑ Produktion von Widerständen, Potentiometern, Tasten-Aggregaten etc.
6. ↑ http://www.rheinmetall.de/de/rheinmetall_ag/group/corporate_history/1993_1999/1993-1999.php
7. ↑ http://www.prehkeytec.de/
8. ↑ http://www.elektroniknet.de/e-fertigung/news/article/15509/0/Lacroix_Electronique_uebernimmt_PrehTronics/ (Seite nicht mehr abrufbar, Suche in Webarchiven) Info: Der Link wurde automatisch als defekt markiert. Bitte prüfe den Link gemäß Anleitung und entferne dann diesen Hinweis.
9. ↑ http://www.deutsche-beteiligung.de/presse/pressemeldungen/?cms_press_id=1667
10. ↑ http://www.preh.de/rw_nlmm/news.asp?WebID=preh2&NewsID=176&PageID=2&inline= (Seite nicht mehr abrufbar, Suche in Webarchiven) Info: Der Link wurde automatisch als defekt markiert. Bitte prüfe den Link gemäß Anleitung und entferne dann diesen Hinweis.
11. ↑ Preh übernimmt die IMA Automation Amberg. Preh GmbH. 17. Juni 2014. Archiviert vom Original am 12. Juli 2017. Info: Der Archivlink wurde automatisch eingesetzt und noch nicht geprüft. Bitte prüfe Original- und Archivlink gemäß Anleitung und entferne dann diesen Hinweis. Abgerufen am 1. März 2016.
12. ↑ Joyson und Preh vereinbaren mit TechniSat Übernahme des TechniSat Automotive-Geschäfts. Preh GmbH. 1. Februar 2016. Archiviert vom Original am 12. Juli 2017. Info: Der Archivlink wurde automatisch eingesetzt und noch nicht geprüft. Bitte prüfe Original- und Archivlink gemäß Anleitung und entferne dann diesen Hinweis. Abgerufen am 1. März 2016.
13. ↑ prehcarconnect.com