Dräxlmaier Group

Dräxlmaier Group was founded in May 1958 in Vilsbiburg, Germany by Lisa and Fritz Dräxlmaier. Their first order is for 50,000 wire harnesses for the Goggomobil[4] manufactured by Hans Glas GmbH in Dingolfing. A short time later, another order followed for the interior (door panels, upholstery, instrument panels, rear deck). Soon the company gained foothold in the business, and in 1960 Dräxlmaier installed its first facilities for high-frequency welding and thermoplastic vacuum molding for interior business.[5] The company's product lineup expanded rapidly during its first six years. With instrument panels, seat covers and parcel shelves, Dräxlmaier supplied the entire vehicle equipment for the compact car that was built up to 1969. Plans for a new factory, already on the drawing board in 1962, became a reality in 1964 as the company opened its first 2,400 square-meter manufacturing facility. It began production of polyurethane foam components. In 1966 BMW[6] became a new customer of Dräxlmaier Group.[7]

The first order for the Dräxlmaier Group: 50,000 wiring harnesses for the Goggomobil made by Hans Glas GmbH in Dingolfin

Ten years after its founding, the company had evolved internally as well. It opened its own tool and die shop and introduced its first EDP system. At first, the system was used only to process warehouse transactions but soon it is handling accounting as well. During the next 3 years the company kept on growing and expanding. Audi, Volkswagen and Mercedes Benz became new customers[8] and the headquarters in Vilsbiburg was extended, opening a new building for manufacturing and administration.[9] 1974 The cornerstone is laid for globalization as the first manufacturing facility in Tunisia[10] opens its doors[6] and two years later even expanded to America[11] as the first German OEM opens a manufacturing facility in the United States. Growth at home requires the entire plastics division to move to Geisenhausen. Operations now take up some 17,000 square meters.[12]

The production and administration building on Brückenstraße, Vilsbiburg in 1970.

Operations continued to expand after 25 years of dynamic growth, expanding from one company to six, from a staff of ten to 1,300.[13] In the year 1983 a great educational initiative launches, with a record number of 46 vocational trainees. The president of Germany thanks Dräxlmaier "for exemplary service in providing job training to young people". The group incorporated to keep pace with growth, giving rise to Lisa Dräxlmaier GmbH and Eldra Kunststofftechnik GmbH. Four new foreign affiliates took up operations and a centralized EDP network linked the entire company. Production sites were set up in Braunau am Inn in Austria (1978) and four other foreign companies were established. In 1987 Dräxlmaier's typical supply chain took shape with construction of its automated high-rise parts warehouse. The warehouse anticipated the trend to just-in-time/customer-specific wire harnesses. The high-rise warehouse (enlarged several times since then) has been the basis of all the logistical structures which have been key to Dräxlmaier's dynamic growth.[14]

In 1990 DRÄXLMAIER launches the customized wiring harness (KSK) on the market.

In 1988 the company celebrated its 30th anniversary and Fritz Dräxlmaier received the "Bayerischer Verdienstorden"[15] on behalf of the approximately 3,400 employees from Bavarian politician Franz Josef Strauss. The concept of customer-specific wire harnesses provided the catalyst for the rapid transition from a Lower Bavarian group of companies to an international enterprise. Dräxlmaier became the first supplier capable of reacting to customers' mass-production needs by manufacturing and delivering customized electrical systems in lot size 1 and just in sequence. Customer-specific wire harnesses became a reality for all three major customers - Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Audi - within the space of a single year.[16] In 1993 Dräxlmaier Group started expansion into the former East Bloc by entering Czechoslovakia and Romania.[17] In that year, another plant was established in Tunisia. The following year Dräxlmaier won out over international mega-suppliers in a concept competition. The task of designing, manufacturing and delivering the entire cockpit for the Mercedes-Benz CLK (C208) made Eldra a system supplier of interiors. In 1995 Fritz Dräxlmaier, Sr. died at 80 years of age. In the words of Minister of Economics August R. Lang, the company lost one of "Lower Bavaria's most prominent entrepreneurs". The production network was expanded in 1996 with the establishment of new sites in America and Mexico. Two years later the "Firmengruppe Dräxlmaier" was rechristened "Dräxlmaier Group". In the same year the company won a concept competition sponsored by BMW for the E65 door module as a "Functionally Integrated System" (FIS). The FIS order for the BMW 7 Series was the first design order for a door module. An order for FIS center consoles soon followed. Both modules for the BMW 7 Series were manufactured just in sequence and delivered to the OEM line in Dingolfing.[18]

The Technology Center in Vilsbiburg is opened in 1998.

In 1998 Dräxlmaier obtained control of HIB Holzindustrie Bruchsal GmbH.[19] The acquisition allows Dräxlmaier to add premium wood trim to its product lineup. The Dräxlmaier Technology Vilsbiburg in Center opened its doors the same year. The ultramodern architecture supports the entire process chain and houses modeling, tool and die, prototype facilities and SEP. The following year Dräxlmaier got to be the first system supplier to manufacture a full leather interior for the Mercedes-Benz CL Coupe. In 2000 the Dräxlmaier Group receives the "Formula Q"[20] quality prize from Volkswagen, awarded to the 20 best suppliers for absolute reliability, high quality and zero defects, etc. This follows on the heels of various other prizes awarded by different OEM partners. In the same year, Dräxlmaier designed and manufactured the complete Interior for the BMW Z8, the first order of this magnitude from BMW. Porsche, Jaguar and Cadillac are won over as new customers. In 2002 Dräxlmaier supplies interiors for the Maybach luxury limousine. Dräxlmaier was responsible for the entire electrical system, the interior and the fine wood trim.[21] During the years 98 – 08 new facilities and plants opened in Germany (Landau an der Isar and Achim), China (Shenyang), and Mexico (San Luis Potosí) ), South Africa, Spain, Thailand and Moldova[22]

In 2008, the Dräxlmaier Group started making natural fiber composite material for vehicle interiors. The door paneling developed for the BMW 7-series carline consists of bio-composite material.

The next production plant to be established in the Eastern European region was in Zrenjanin, province of Vojvodina in Serbia in 2008. There was established production for BMW, later for FIAT too.

In 2009, Dräxlmaier received an order for a high-voltage electrical system in various Mercedes-Benz and Smart models with electric drive, hybrid technology, plug-in hybrid and the future fuel cell drive.

In the same year, Dräxlmaier also became responsible for producing the whole interior system and the electrical system of the Porsche Panamera.

In 2010, Dräxlmaier Group sold the business unit HIB (Holzindustrie Bruchsal), which produces wooden trims elements, to the subsidiary Mutares AG, including the stakes in Vilsbiburg and Codlea in Romania.[23]

In 2012, the Dräxmaier Group opened another plant in China and expanded its existing production area in Shenyang In the same year in July the company announced that it will open a new production facility in Kavadarci, Macedonia and that will employ up to 4,000 people. This is Dräxlmaier's first plant in Macedonia.[24] The Macedonian subsidiary managed to employ more than 6,000 by 2016.

The Dräxlmaier Group opened a new location in Leipzig in 2013. In the same year, a new business segment was established called Dräxlmaier Aviation GmbH.[25] The company developed and produced interior systems for private and commercial aircraft until 2017.

In 2014, Tesla Motors was acquired as a new customer. In that year, the logistics network of the organization was expanded with the establishment of the site in Zwickau.

In 2015, QESTRONIC Advanced Technologies GmbH from Geisenhausen was integrated into the DRÄXLMAIER Group.

In 2016, the automobile supplier opened a new production site for interior parts in Langfang, China. In that year, the Dräxlmaier Group celebrated its 50-year anniversary as a supplier to BMW.

In July 2018, it was announced that Jürgen Otto will join the management board of the Dräxlmaier Group effective January 1, 2019, taking over the CEO position from Fritz Dräxlmaier.[26]