BrushBoxx Launches with Experience By Katharina Goldbeck-Hörz

BRUSHBOXX LAUNCHES WITH EXPERIENCE

German Brush Start-Up Brush Company Focuses On Innovative Solutions In Growth Market

By Katharina Goldbeck Hörz

WWhile BrushBoxx GmbH has only just launched with an official start-up date of January 3, 2022, the new brush manufacturer boasts an experienced leadership team and is targeting some of the hottest business sectors. Mechanical engineers Andreas Fuchs and Henning Teutsch founded BrushBoxx near Stuttgart, Germany, and both have many years of technical and management experience in purchasing, sales and the development of technical products. The mission for BrushBoxx is to offer consulting, development, production and distribution of technical brushes and components targeted at industrial customers in the data center, agricultural technology, wind power and customized, complex brush solutions sectors. Looking at the leadership team, Fuchs, 45, was most recently sales manager and later managing director at a well-known manufacturer of brushes for over 10 years. Teutsch, 39, worked as head of development for over six years in the brush industry. Leading the agricultural technology and wind power business units, Peter Halm is a technical business economist with more than 16 years of experience in the brush industry, from production to sales. Rounding out the team, André Fischer is a commercial business economist and he leads the data center business. He has industry experience of 13 years in the brush sector.

Highly motivated, BrushBoxx enters an industry where startups have become extremely rare. Today, growth in this traditionsteeped industry is more likely to come from acquisitions or Europe-wide mergers of long-standing family businesses.

BrushBoxx CEO Andreas Fuchs

BrushBoxx CEO Henning Teutsch

“It was a long and intensive process of developing a business model,” says Fuchs. “We acted very deliberately and looked for niches where our knowledge is in demand. We are not interested in copying large manufacturers. We thought about how we can scale business areas and what could be interesting for companies in the future. How can we bring all our combined know-how and experience to bear, to the benefit of future customers?”

The two founders and CEOs of BrushBoxx anticipate high growth potential. They have taken their time in designing a

working concept and promising business model that invests in future technology of growth markets. And they have the backing they need – moral support from their families, appreciation from their first customers and suppliers and the financing required to be successful. “For us, added value comes with customer interaction,” Fuchs adds. “So we have embarked on a journey of discovery, coming from the industries to provide solutions for the industries. This step into independence, starting with consulting, finding solutions together with customers and realizable results in a short time, leads to a very positive response from our first customers, but also in discussions with future suppliers and in cooperations. We are encouraged by this motivating result.” The founders granted an interview with Brushware and the result of that conversation follows:

We acted very deliberately and looked for niches where our knowledge is in demand … How can we bring all our combined knowhow and experience to bear, to the benefit of future customers?

André Fischer

Peter Halm

What made you decide to start a new company?

FUCHS: The desire for another professional challenge was strong for both of us. At the same time, it was also a desire for personal development outside the comfort zone of an employee job. In joint discussions, we kept realizing that: Actually, you would have to do it yourself. We wanted a change and this eventually led to the idea: We’re doing it. TEUTSCH: We both have a lot of experience with customer needs and we are all doers who like to implement something in the interest of the customer. Our motivation is to solve problems.

Why did you choose the specific markets of agriculture, wind/renewable energy and data center technology?

FUCHS: We chose these industries because we have experience in this area and we can identify with the products. They are also industries with a promising future. Focusing with our knowhow offers the opportunity to make a name for ourselves as a start-up in a competitive environment.

Are there other markets for BrushBoxx in the future?

FUCHS: We have identified other interesting areas, but we want to work on them at a later date ‒ just step by step.

What are your short-, medium- and long-term goals?

FUCHS: Of course, the most important thing is to get orders. Acquisition takes priority over everything. Setting up production is also one of our short-term goals. This also involves setting up test rigs and recruiting personnel. In the medium term, we are aiming for ISO certifications for BrushBoxx, and we want to invest in development projects with customers. And in the long term, of course, we hope to succeed as a company in the market.

What advantages do you offer over established manufacturers?

TEUTSCH: Our focus is on the specific development of solutions, primarily based on injection molding and extrusion technology. We have a lot of technical industry knowledge, are well positioned in engineering and are fortunate to have a sound global network. Personally, I also see advantages in the fact that we think in an absolutely solution-oriented way and meet our customers at eye level when faced with problems. Understanding the specific customer language and being close to issues is a priority and could be a multiplier for other manufacturers. Customer proximity allows us to pay attention and provide extremely short turn-times for inquiries, calculations and offers. Speed and deep understanding are our start-up characteristics.

How do you see the future for the production of technical brushes?

TEUTSCH: We are in a positive mindset with realistic expectations for the future. Hence the step into our own company.

How important is the experience of the team you have assembled?

FUCHS: We benefit from the experience of each individual. The willingness to learn and tackle new tasks is important for all of us to succeed as a start-up. In addition, we are a well-positioned and highly motivated team, and we cover a large field professionally. It is also a question of attitude and our young, just growing corporate culture. It is based on a hands-on mentality, which means we get stuck in. We want to strengthen our individuality as a company and grow. That is also our motivation. There are always encounters with people from whom I can learn something. The willingness to learn, to retain curiosity and push boundaries means to me that other things are possible. And we only win by doing things together.

Can you give examples of how this helps customers?

FUCHS: With first-hand expertise, fast response and industry know-how, we pick up our customers when problems arise. At the same time, we never forget that our suppliers are the source of the innovations we want to find. We have enough courage to set up a larger hall with state-of-the-art machinery, which may also quickly become too small if we are successful. We are flexible even with growth.

What is the size and location of the production facility?

FUCHS: With four people and a lot of potential, we are at the start. Our location is close to Stuttgart, with an excellent infrastructure. This means we are directly and quickly at the customer’s site, even across Europe when it matters. We have rented a generous area of 300 square meters for production, for the start of our company, and equipped it with state-ofthe-art technology. In doing so, we hope that this capacity will not be sufficient for too long.