Energised intelligence BMZ

ENERGISED INTELLIGENCE

BMZ is a leading battery systems provider that specialises in developing intelligent solutions for industry. It is a global technology leader in the rapidly growing lithium-ion battery market. Philip Yorke spoke to Sven Bauer, the company’s founder and CEO, about the strategy behind its remarkable success and its latest lithium-ion products.

Since its foundation in 1994 in Karlstein, Germany, BMZ has emerged as one of the world’s leading system providers of intelligent battery solutions in the fast-growing lithium-ion accumulator (rechargeable battery) market. Custom designed batteries developed and manufactured by BMZ are used worldwide for many different products including electric garden tools, power tools, electric vehicles, electric bicycles and portable medical devices, as well as for storage units for renewable energies.

With its primary manufacturing plants in Germany and its stateof-the-art production facilities in China, the US and Poland, BMZ has the flexibility to react quickly to changing global market forces. As the acknowledged leader in custom-designed battery packs, its highly qualified engineers and technicians generate new technologies in close partnership with its customers.

BMZ provides complete custom-made solutions based upon proven designs and technologies to meet its customers’ needs for energy storage systems. Today’s market is increasingly focused on Lithium-ion, High Current Lithium-ion Manganese, Lithium-ion Phosphate and Lithium Polymer, however, High Current Nickel Metal Hydride is still used in a variety of applications. BMZ offers complete concepts on demand, which are constructed to meet its customers’ highest technical requirements. Today BMZ employs over 1400 people and in 2014 recorded sales of more than €230 million.

The future is electric

In the quest for cleaner, renewable energy, manufacturing companies are turning to electrically driven products. The most high-profile of these is the electric car which is quiet, reliable and offers virtually

LG Chem

We, LG Chem, believe that the decision to be a strategic partner with BMZ was the right decision.

We have been growing together with BMZ in European market based on a firm cooperative partnership since 2012.

LG Chem will continue to cooperate with BMZ to offer higher value and competitive battery solution to the European market.

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zero emissions. They use the best current infrastructure for recharging, making the driving experience not only a pleasure but a truly environmentally-friendly option.

With consumers worldwide relying more and more on mobile battery solutions for power tools and electric vehicles, BMZ has invested in the world’s most advanced production facility and one that is capable of producing more than 200,000 rechargeable battery packs per year. At this revolutionary new plant it will be possible to automatically assemble, weld and test BMZ’s range of advanced rechargeable battery packs.

“A German company which wants to attain a long-term internationally top ranking position in such an important future market as mobile energy supplies should not only rely on its innovative product ideas and systems expertise. With our highly efficient and fully automated rechargeable battery pack production facility we want to prove that BMZ in Germany is internationally competitive in all respects from a manufacturing point of view,” explained Bauer.

At BMZ, the recording of all pack-related data by individual production stations and its unique assignment to the respective product, guarantees the seamless traceability of every single battery produced.

Innovation and efficiency driving sales

From the outset innovation and service have been at the heart of BMZ’s business culture. Its on-going investment in new product development and ground-breaking energy storage systems is unparalleled. Whether it is the new modular power storage system that can feed surplus energy into a housing network, a new pivoting battery, or the highly efficient BMZ Lithium Powerbloc you can be certain that they represent the latest, cutting-edge technology and the most reliable products available on the market.

Bauer said, “Our big OEM customers rely on us to provide them with the technology they need to maintain their competitive edge in today’s global marketplace. We not only have our own extensive research laboratories but also have our own lab in a leading German University, which benefits our customers and compliments our own research operations, thus our search for greater efficiency is always on-going. We are also efficient when it comes to our after sales offering with a 24 hour service hotline available in five languages.

“Automotive applications are a fast growing sector, especially for items such as fork-lift trucks, buses and taxis, and last year there were over 90,000 electric cars sold in Europe. An interesting development has been the introduction of a new electric vehicle by the German postal service, which has designed and produced its own purpose-built electric van for postal deliveries. This small 4-wheel truck is produced in Germany and will be adopted by other European postal services, with the UK being one of the first.”

He added, “Our latest energy storage system (ESS) for the domestic market provide us with the biggest opportunities for growth and is likely to be ten times bigger than all automotive activities combined. The new ESS batteries will make it possible to optimise the use of solar panels and return a large proportion of the electricity that is generated, back to the national grid. However, right now it is e-bikes and power tools that dominate our sales profiles especially in the European market.

“We have also extended our manufacturing capacity to accommodate the global demand for our products, which is consistently increasing by over 20 per cent a year. We are now the biggest manufacturer of our kind in Europe with over 55,000 square metres of manufacturing space in Germany and a further 46,000 square metres at our site in Poland, which is strategically located next door to the main Opel automotive plant there. We are typical tier one OEM suppliers for companies such as Stihl and Huskvana, and follow our customers when they establish new manufacturing facilities around the world.” n

For further details of BMZ’s innovative products and services visit: www.bmz-gmbh.de