At Rosenbauer

roses

The forest fires in Los Angeles also left a trail of devastation in parts of the city.

(Bild: Krone KREATIV/AP (2))

Thousands of buildings destroyed; people who have lost everything - the forest fires in Los Angeles have left a trail of devastation in their wake. Sebastian Wolf speaks of a "dramatic situation". The head of Rosenbauer, the largest fire equipment supplier in the world, spoke to the "Krone" newspaper about innovations and the investment by Pierer, Mateschitz and Raiffeisenlandesbank in the company in Upper Austria.

North America is the largest firefighting market in the world, where Rosenbauer has a market share of just under ten percent. The Upper Austrians are keeping a close eye on the developments surrounding the forest fires in and around Los Angeles, which have left thousands of people homeless. "Our vehicles are all in use there," says Sebastian Wolf.

The Rosenbauer CEO knows: "What is particularly bad about a forest fire is that the burning material - i.e. the forest - is more or less unlimited. Due to the suction effect that is created, more and more oxygen is added and the fire is fueled further."

Rosenbauer CEO Sebastian Wolf.

(Bild: Wenzel Markus)

Forest fires are not only an issue in the USA, but worldwide. Special vehicles are needed here: "They have to be able to carry a lot of water and also have a certain amount of off-road capability. It's also about protecting the crew."

New technology for early detection of forest fires
76 special vehicles for fighting forest fires were manufactured in Leonding for the German Armed Forces as part of a major contract. A start-up from Munich is working on a solution for the early detection of forest fires using satellites. "Then we would no longer need reconnaissance flights," says the manager, who led the world's leading fire equipment supplier out of the crisis with enormous efforts from the entire workforce.

We can help fight forest fires better with innovations in equipment. For example, we have a small pump that can be transported on a backpack and used to lay a fire-fighting line from a small stream or lake.

Rosenbauer-Vorstandschef Sebastian Wolf über Mittel zur Waldbrandbekämpfung

Deadline for Robau entry ends on February 28
Fresh money is now to flow into the company with the help of a capital increase. The investor is a consortium called Robau, backed by Pierer Industrie AG, Mark Mateschitz's investment company and two companies from Raiffeisenlandesbank Oberösterreich. Because regulatory approvals from four countries in the Arab region were still missing, Robau's entry, which is expected to bring in 119 million euros, had been delayed. Lenders were given until February 28 to get everything under control. "I am very confident that this will soon be completed," says Wolf.

We are now waiting for the transaction to be completed and assume that the closing will also happen soon.

Sebastian Wolf über die anstehende Kapitalerhöhung

On Friday, the yes-words from three countries were still missing
On Friday morning, Robau Beteiligungsverwaltung GmbH took the next step by launching the so-called anticipatory mandatory offer to acquire the shares of Rosenbauer International AG. According to the consortium, only the merger control approvals from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait are still missing.

The fact that Stefan Pierer is joining Rosenbauer with Pierer Industrie AG and also wants to acquire a majority stake with Robau, while the motorcycle manufacturer KTM, which he manages, is struggling to restructure, leaves a bad taste in the mouths of outsiders. The employees also have questions about this: "But I can't say much about it. Everything concerning KTM is outside our sphere of influence."

"The team has achieved a great deal"
The upcoming capital increase was not a topic at the Christmas party: "I wanted to look back on the year and find a positive conclusion together, because a lot has been achieved and the team has done an extremely good job."