Acquired by a Turkish Company in December... Wheel Giant Files for Bankruptcy for the 5th Time
World-renowned giant companies continue to wave the white flag of bankruptcy. It has been announced that the German wheel giant BBS, which was acquired by a Turkish company last December, has filed for bankruptcy. The German wheel giant had previously gone bankrupt 4 times.
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It has been announced that the German wheel giant BBS, which had previously filed for bankruptcy 4 times, has filed for bankruptcy for the 5th time.
According to the report by Sercan Çelikbaş from Patronlar Dünyası, the management of the German wheel manufacturer was taken over last December by ISH Management Services GmbH, the German subsidiary of the Turkish company İş Holding. The German wheel giant BBS, which was acquired by the Turkish company, has filed for bankruptcy for the fifth time.
The bankruptcy application was made directly by İş Holding to the Rottweil District Court. According to the decision, the company owners aim to prevent negative changes in the financial situation of BBS Autotechnik GmbH in this way.
Regarding the bankruptcy application made on Friday, IG Metall Union Secretary Stefan Prutscher expressed his astonishment by saying, "No one knows what anyone is doing."
The long-established wheel manufacturer BBS also experienced bankruptcy in 2007, 2011, 2020, and 2023. After the KW Automotive Group took over the company in June 2021, BBS was acquired by the Turkish ISH Management Services. ISH had plans for BBS, but it recently emerged that the salaries of 270 employees had not been paid for several months.
Baden-Württemberg-based BBS had recently appointed Simone Maier-Paselk, an experienced executive in the wheel sector, as head of sales and marketing/strategy and business development.
BBS has two alloy wheel factories in Schiltach and Herbolzheim and employs approximately 270 people.
ACQUIRED BY A TURKISH COMPANY IN DECEMBER
BBS, one of Germany's most deep-rooted wheel manufacturers with numerous successes in motorsports, had changed hands once again after filing for bankruptcy in September 2023. Finally, the historic wheel company, which operated under the KW Automotive company, joined the Turkish company İş Holding family at the end of last year.
GENERAL MANAGER HAD SAID, 'WE WILL NOT LEAVE ANYONE HALFWAY'
General Manager İlkem Şahin had said the following in a statement made a few weeks ago:
"We are saying it very clearly: We will never leave those who walk with us on this path halfway. We will never give up on the BBS brand, which is one of the greatest German global brands for us. We have a plan and we are determined to implement it."
WON AWARD AFTER AWARD
The BBS company was founded in 1970 by Heinrich Baumgartner, Klaus Brand, and Alois Schmid in Schiltach, Germany. The name 'BBS' represents the first letters of the founders' surnames. The company quickly made a name for itself with its high-quality forged wheels. It produces aluminum wheels using a complex process called low-pressure casting. BBS also gained a certain reputation for producing the wheels of the race car in which Michael Schumacher became Formula 1 world champion for the first time.
BBS has won the famous World Wheel Award, supported by the Essen Motor Show, and the World Wheel Award twice.