Verzinkerei Karger takes over Mega Powder Coatings

For over 60 years, the Karger hot-dip galvanizing plant has been refining the surfaces of steel products to protect them from corrosion and extend their service life by decades. But special gratings and entrepreneurial skill also contribute to the success of the second-generation family business. With the acquisition of Mega Pulverbeschichtungen GmbH, based in Schwarzach/Austria, Karger is now strategically expanding its business area as of March 1, 2024. "We have been considering expanding our range of services for some time and powder coating is an ideal complement to hot-dip galvanizing," explains Managing Director Wolfgang Karger. After examining various options, the decision was made to take over an established company. "With Mega Pulverbeschichtungen GmbH, we were able to acquire a contract coating company that specializes in large parts and whose technical capabilities are hard to find elsewhere," adds Karger. Another core competence alongside electrostatic powder coating is the in-house sandblasting process. This overall package, plus the fact that the previous shareholders also wanted to strategically expand their company's market position, ultimately tipped the scales in favor of the purchase, says Karger.

"As a specialist in the coating of galvanized steel, we were looking for a strategic partnership with a galvanizing company in our search for an early succession plan for reasons of age," says Mega Managing Director Peter Schwendinger. In the Karger hot-dip galvanizing plant, a family business with the same objectives and values has been found, which will continue operations at the previous location as Mega Pulverbeschichtungen GmbH, says the 60-year-old. Everything will remain the same for the approximately 30 employees as well as for the customers. Peter Schwendinger will continue to steer the fortunes of the company as Managing Director, while his brother Walter will act as Production Manager in future. The synergies with the neighboring company Zargen Bösch will also be maintained and expanded. "We are delighted with the successful change of ownership, which proved to be the best solution for everyone during the discussions," says Remo Bösch. Zargen Bösch previously held a 50 percent stake in Mega Pulverbeschichtungen GmbH and owns the property. This will now be leased to Karger on a long-term basis. However, it is not only Zargen Bösch that will benefit from the new company constellation in future; all other existing customers of Mega and Karger will also enjoy many advantages as a result of the alliance. In addition to the hot-dip galvanizing, sandblasting and powder coating services, the logistics of the galvanized and coated goods, for example, will be significantly simplified thanks to the company's own fleet of trucks. "We can now cover everything with one order, process the goods quickly and efficiently in our plants and offer everything from a single source, from collection and delivery to the customer," explains Uli Karger, Technical Managing Director of the Karger Group. The plant in Bad Wurzach, which has been dormant since October 2022, will initially serve as a logistics center, as the order situation is still too low for it to operate as a fourth galvanizing plant alongside the plants in Illertissen, Hüttlingen and Mertingen. "However, we are still very optimistic that demand will increase again despite the continuing difficult economic situation and are of course also hoping for some new customers as a result of the mega purchase," Karger continues. It is currently conceivable that the plant could be ramped up and put back into operation from September 2024 with the procurement of new zinc.