Bosch Rexroth plans to acquire Eppensteiner

Lohr - Bosch Rexroth intends to acquire K. & H. Eppensteiner (Eppensteiner), the hydraulics equipment company based in Ketsch, Germany. An agreement to this effect was signed on March 31, 2008. It has been agreed that the purchase price will not be disclosed. The acquisition is subject to approval by the antitrust authorities.

Eppensteiner develops, manufactures, and sells fluid filters for installation in hydraulic and lubrication oil systems. Its product portfolio also includes complete systems for purifying and recycling hydraulic and lubrication oil. With more than 200 associates, the company generated sales of roughly 28 million euros in 2007, mainly in Europe.

“In acquiring Eppensteiner, we are taking an important step toward expanding our product portfolio to include accessory components. Fluid filters are an important building block in our strategy of further growth in the service and retrofitting business,” said Dr. Albert Hieronimus, the president of Bosch Rexroth AG.


The Bosch Group is a leading global supplier of technology and services. In the areas of automotive and industrial technology, consumer goods, and building technology, some 272,000 associates generated sales of 46.1 billion euros in fiscal 2007. The Bosch Group comprises Robert Bosch GmbH and its roughly 300 subsidiary and regional companies in over 50 countries. This worldwide development, manufacturing, and sales network is the foundation for further growth. Bosch spends more than three billion euros each year for research and development, and in 2006 applied for over 3,000 patents worldwide. The company was set up in Stuttgart in 1886 by Robert Bosch (1861-1942) as “Workshop for Precision Mechanics and Electrical Engineering.”

The special ownership structure of Robert Bosch GmbH guarantees the entrepreneurial freedom of the Bosch Group, making it possible for the company to plan over the long term and to undertake significant up-front investments in the safeguarding of its future. Ninety-two percent of the share capital of Robert Bosch GmbH is held by Robert Bosch Stiftung GmbH, a charitable foundation. The majority of voting rights are held by Robert Bosch Industrietreuhand KG, an industrial trust. The entrepreneurial ownership functions are carried out by the trust. The remaining shares are held by the Bosch family and by Robert Bosch GmbH.