LOCATION AND JOBS REMAIN

BeA GmbH has taken over the business operations of Joh. Friedrich Behrens AG in the form of a transfer of operations on June 1, 2021. The head office and all jobs in Bogenstraße will be retained. The company, which has been based in Ahrensburg since 1948, filed for insolvency on November 11, 2020 and continued its business operations in self-administration proceedings.

The new owner of BeA GmbH is GREATSTAR Europe AG, Erlen (Switzerland). BeA GmbH and its subsidiaries are managed as an independent group of companies from the headquarters in Ahrensburg. There are currently 145 employees working in administration, purchasing, development, production, logistics and sales. All employees and the eight trainees were kept on during the insolvency. On September 1, two more trainees will start at BeA GmbH.

Europe’s leading manufacturer of fastening technology for wood and wood-like materials employs 450 people worldwide and is represented by 14 subsidiaries and three branches in the most important markets. The company’s brands are also represented by sales partners in more than 40 countries.

“All employees at the headquarters, the branches and the subsidiaries have remained on board. This is proof of the extraordinary commitment to the company and the trust in the future concept of the new BeA GmbH,” emphasizes Dr. Jörg Dalhöfer. He was appointed as Managing Director together with Stephan Kreft, both of whom manage the BeA Group.

“The employees have extensive expertise in applications, products and markets in all areas. This is the basis for accelerating development at the headquarters and expanding the existing production capacities,” adds Stephan Kreft. “The works council supports the management’s concept for the future and appreciates the cooperative and respectful way in which we treat our employees,” explains Wolfgang Ohrt, Deputy Chairman of the Works Council.

“As a GREATSTAR Europe AG company, BeA GmbH has the financial strength and stability to further strengthen the market position of the entire group,” emphasizes Stephan Kreft: “The company is now steering into calmer waters, is picking up speed and has a clear course,” underlines the Managing Director.

The BeA Group will continue to operate the well-known brands and product range of BeA, BeA Autotec and KMR in all markets in which they are currently represented. “Our goal is to further develop BeA GmbH in a strong network of applications, products and markets,” affirms Dr. Jörg Dalhöfer.

With its BeA and KMR brands, the company is the European market leader for hand-held gas and compressed air-driven stapling and nailing devices in industrial timber construction, furniture production, pallet production and repair and wooden transport packaging. “The current shortage of wood is an expression of the fact that the market for timber construction and houses made of wood is growing worldwide. In addition, the demand for transport packaging is increasing due to the growing global trade volume,” says Dr. Jörg Dalhöfer, predicting a positive market development for the company.

BeA Autotec stands for automated fastening solutions for production plants and robot systems in the entire wood processing industry and now also in the automotive industry. These are developed and manufactured in Ahrensburg. “The shortage of skilled workers in the trade and cost pressure in the industry are driving the introduction of automated fastening solutions,” says Dr. Jörg Dalhöfer.

The CEO of the BeA Group

At present, the focus is primarily on reliably supplying customers with fasteners. At the headquarters in Ahrensburg, devices and fasteners are stored in an area of 6,000 m2 on 8,845 pallet spaces and delivered to Central Europe within 48 hours. Every day, around 140 tons of goods are dispatched from Ahrensburg in 500 packages with logistics partners.