12/03/2018 | ACPS Automotive announces management changes
CEO and Chair Gerhard Böhm transitions to the Advisory Board; Caspar Baumhauer assumes operational responsibility for the business as CEO.
The ACPS Automotive Group, acquired by TowerBrook Capital Partners (TCP), has announced the further strengthening of the strategic and operational management team that will steer the future growth of the company. Gerhard Böhm (61), CEO and Managing Director from May to November 2018, led the reorientation of ACPS Automotive Group, a European leader for tow-bars in passenger cars. He will now transition to the Advisory Board, where he will have responsibility for the strategic direction of the Group. Caspar Baumhauer (56), is appointed CEO and Managing Director and takes over the operational management of the Group.
"We are very pleased that we were able to recruit Caspar Baumhauer as CEO and Managing Director. He is a highly experienced international manager who has proven his leadership skills many times and is an acknowledged automotive expert. He leads a powerful leadership team. Together with this team, Caspar Baumhauer will drive ACPS Automotive forward and expand the company's strong position as an innovation and technology leader," said Gerhard Böhm, Chair of the Advisory Board.
Caspar Baumhauer has been working in the automotive industry for over 25 years, serving most recently as Managing Director and President of the Central Europe Division of Plastic Omnium Automotive Exterior, where he was responsible in particular for the integration of bumper activities taken over by Faurecia. In earlier positions, Caspar Baumhauer was CEO of W.E.T. Automotive Systems AG, the global market leader for seat heating and seat temperature control. He also held senior positions at Faurecia and Sommer Allibert, where he was responsible for business in the German market. He served most recently as a board member for Modules & Systems at Faurecia. Caspar Baumhauer obtained an MBA from INSEAD in Fontainebleau, France.
The company
ACPS Automotive is market leader of tow-bars for passenger cars, SUvs and vans. The company stands for technological leadership and has ambitions to shape markets with its innovations. More than 140 patents document the company’s distinctive innovation culture. As a developer and manufacturer, ACPS Automotive sets standards with the technology of its transport solutions from its headquarters in Ingersheim and ten locations worldwide. A wide range of customers benefit from its products and services: international automotive industry players specify ACPS equipment in new vehicles, and companies in the aftermarket retrofit ACPS products. ACPS Automotive has around 2,000 employees, was founded in 1955 in Möglingen near Stuttgart, and is known under the brand name ORIS. By developing numerous new products, the company has shaped the tow-bar market and made it what it is today. In the 70s the company developed the world's first detachable tow-bar that had many advantages over previously exclusively fixed versions. In the early 2000s, the company created a new standard with the first mechanical swivel tow-bars. In 2010, a further innovation followed: the first fully automatic swivel tow-bar, for maximum comfort and safety.
