35 years of Aqipa

What has made Aqipa so special for 35 years? Thirty-five people describe this in a short video to mark the company’s half-century anniversary – Norbert Frömmer, Managing Director and CRO, was one of them. LRS congratulates the company and wishes it all the best for the next 35 years.
Read the full article: Video

Sale of Schwabe, Ley & Greiner Gesellschaft m.b.H. (SLG)

Dr Norbert Frömmer serves as a member of the Executive Board of Mag Jochen Schwabe’s Austrian private foundation since 2010. Mag Jochen Schwabe used this trusteeship to manage his shareholding in Schwabe, Ley & Greiner Gesellschaft mbH (SLG), which he co-founded in 1988 and is based in Vienna.

With 60 employees, SLG is a leading European consultancy specialising in finance and treasury management as well as risk, cash, asset and working capital management. SLG is also known as the organiser of the ‘Finanzsymposium’ in Mannheim, Germany, and the ‘Treasury & Finance Convention’ in Schladming, Styria.

SLG will now be wholly acquired by the Hamburg-based X1F Group (see press release); Norbert Frömmer was involved in the transaction through his role as member of the Board of Trustees.

LRS is pleased with Aqipa’s sales success
The Aqipa Group – a value-added distributor for lifestyle and consumer electronics brands with its headquarters in Kundl, Tyrol – has successfully completed its first financial year with Thali AG from Switzerland, as fully consolidated into the group. Aquipa achieved sales of around 250 million euros. Aqipa has thus significantly expanded its position in the DACH market and can now embark on the next phase of its pan-European orientation.

Switzerland has by far the highest purchasing power per capita in Europe and is therefore an important market for brands and retailers. The combination of Aqipa’s expertise and Thali’s established network makes Aqipa a real powerhouse for lifestyle and consumer electronics brands looking to tap into the coveted Swiss market.

LRS has been supporting the Aqipa Group with its logistics centers in Kundl (Austria), Barcelona (Spain), Lucerne (Switzerland) and Melbourne (Australia) as well as sales organizations throughout Europe and APAC since August 2020 and has appointed Dr. Norbert Frömmer as Managing Director.

“Lounge Talk” – Dr Norbert Frömmer discusses reorganisation and restructuring
On 22 November 2023, Dr. Wieselhuber & Partner GmbH, Management Link GmbH and SGS Management GmbH are inviting to a current evening with the topic “Prospects for reorganisation and restructuring”. In times of stacking crises and geopolitical tensions, the need for reorganisation and restructuring increases significantly. In these situations, it is important to have the courage to make the right decisions and to find the best mix of performance-related and financial measures. The experienced restructuring expert Dr Norbert Frömmer will be discussing this topic in the Lounge Talk, where he will contribute to a holistic view of this topic with practical examples of restructuring strategy development and, above all, the implementation of measures. Registration for this event is possible here: Registration

Executive and Management at DHR
DHR Inc., headquartered in Chicago, USA, is one of the leading global executive search service providers with more than 50 offices in 22 countries. Since 2012, LRS has been supporting DHR’s offices in Austria, Germany and Romania in commercial, financial and organisational matters. As part of the cooperation, Dr Norbert Frömmer/LRS has been entrusted with the management of these countries.
One of the most important DHR consultants in Europe, Dr. Gerlinde Berger, gives an insight into this lively and diverse industry in Tom Junkersdorf’s TOMorrow podcast, where she talks about leadership skills and current developments in the industry: https://lnk.to/tom-gb1

LRS sponsors culture for children at Schloss Walpersdorf

Since July 2022, LRS has been supporting and sponsoring the children’s concerts at Schloss Walpersdorf in Lower Austria.

The castle concerts for children are part of the cultural initiative of the ‘Kultur Schloss Walpersdorf’ association, which aims to bring classical music closer to children of all ages in the revitalised Renaissance castle in the Traisental valley.
With its commitment, LRS joins the ranks of many well-known partners and sponsors of the castle concerts.

Stand with Ukraine

We have long supported Ukraine in its efforts to strengthen civil society. In the 2000s, for example, we participated in a programme to sponsor highly talented students from financially weak families financially during their studies.

Now we are helping again: in addition to sending medicines to Ukrainian hospitals, we are supporting a refugee family in Austria. LRS has taken over the procurement of housing and pays rent as well as running costs.

Sale Genera Printer GmbH

KEH Holding has held 25.2% of the shares in Genera Printer GmbH since its foundation in 2015. Genera develops and sells 3 D printers for industrial applications. In October 2020, LRS received the assignment to make Genera Printer M&A-ready and to sell the shares of KEH in the best possible way, while ensuring the future growth of Genera Printer as a secondary condition. After internal restructuring initiated and implemented by LRS, mainly in the commercial and organizational areas, a professional M&A process was started. The winner of this process was the Stratasys Group, which is listed on the US technology exchange NASDAQ. In November 2021, it acquired the 25.2% stake in KEH-GmbH via its British subsidiary and provided the company with the necessary growth capital.

Read more here.

Sale KBZ/Geras

Stift Geras, the Premonstratensian canonical monastery in the Waldviertel, sells its 94% majority shareholding in KBZ GmbH (exactly Kunst- und Bildungszentrum Stift Geras -Veranstaltungs- und Betriebsgesellschaft m.b.H.) to Friends Touristik, the operating company of the tenant of Pernegg Abbey, Klaus Rebernig. The remaining 6% will continue to be owned by Dr. Norbert Frömmer.

The project, in which LRS has been involved operationally and strategically for six years – among other things, Norbert Frömmer was managing director of KBZ from 2015 to 2020 – thus entered its next phase in mid-August. At the same time, further contracts were concluded to enable the long-planned expansion of the Pernegg Fasting Center.

GENERA and Henkel jointly drive series production in additive manufacturing

Halliburton acquires Smart Fibers
Smart Fibers Ltd. was taken over by Halliburton Global Holdings Ltd., one of the largest players in the oilfield service market . LRS has been a member of the four-headed Boards of Directors since 2015. LRS initially stabilized the company economically, realigned it strategically and was then looking for the best option for the stake holders (shareholders, company, employees) of Smart Fibers Ltd.. The sale of 100% of the company took place in December 2018.