Mahle acquires majority holding in diagnostics specialist BrainBee

The Mahle Group has increased its holding in BrainBee, an automotive workshop equipment specialist, to 80 per cent of the company’s shares. After a strategic minority holding of 20 per cent was agreed in September 2017, Mahle Aftermarket is now taking another important step toward becoming a solutions provider. With this majority acquisition, Mahle Aftermarket is significantly expanding its European presence in the area of equipment and services for workshops.

Mahle Service Solutions, Mahle Aftermarket’s workshop equipment business segment, has already been working with BrainBee for some time on the development and production of workshop equipment. BrainBee was founded in 2001 and brings comprehensive expertise in the development and manufacture of A/C service, diagnostics, fluid management, and exhaust gas measuring equipment.

In September 2017, Mahle acquired a 20 per cent share in the Italian workshop equipment specialist. Mahle is now increasing this share to 80 per cent. The group intends expand the BrainBee activities with its currently approx. 110 employees.

“The BrainBee expertise in fields such as A/C service, diagnostics, fluid management and exhaust gas measurement complements our portfolio extremely well. In the future, we’ll be able to offer vehicle workshops and manufacturers an even broader range of equipment and services,” says Olaf Henning, managing director of Mahle Aftermarket. “The latest example of the results of our cooperation so far has been the EmissionPRO 180 exhaust gas measuring unit, which we developed and produced. And at this year’s Automechanika we will launch further new, commonly designed products.”

“This further step confirms our will to fully share with the Mahle group our extensive experience and knowledge as well as the many patents and numerous awards that BrainBee has acquired over the years,” says Carlo Rocchi, CEO and founder of BrainBee. “Since the beginning of our cooperation with Mahle, we have introduced important innovations in order to meet the requirements of the most important markets. Combining the strengths of Mahle with BrainBee’s expertise provides a strong foundation for continuing to deliver innovative and high quality products and services both to the aftermarket and original equipment market.”

The integration of BrainBee strengthens the position of Mahle Service Solutions in terms of research and development, production, and sales. Customers worldwide will benefit from the additional European location in Parma/Italy, where cutting-edge workshop equipment will be developed and manufactured. With its global platform development, Mahle is improving the efficiency of its production thus ensuring advantages to all customers worldwide. Another advantage is that European customers now have access to an even denser sales and service network.