BBG GROUP
20 years BBG Asia
20 Years of BBG Asia – Successfully living international collaboration
In March 2006, we laid the foundation for our presence in the Asian market by establishing BBG Asia in Changchun. What started with a small team has grown over the past 20 years into an important part of our international BBG Group.
Our step into China was a direct response to the international expansion of key customers of BBG in Mindelheim. As many companies established production facilities in China, we followed them in order to provide tooling and service support directly on site. At that time, the company operated under the name “P-PEQ,” which stood for “Plastic Parts and Equipment” and reflected our original business focus
In the early years, tools were designed in Germany and delivered to China as kits containing all individual components, where they were assembled locally. Step by step, we developed this into an independent manufacturing operation with locally sourced components. Today, BBG Asia independently designs and manufactures PUR foaming molds primarily for the automotive industry, as well as electric mold carrier systems specifically developed for the Asian market. At the same time, BBG Asia provides service support for BBG machines from Germany throughout the Asia-Pacific region.
With 50 employees, eight machining centers, and annual sales of around five million euros, the site has developed impressively. Customers in China, India, Japan, and Korea rely on the expertise of the team.
The location in Changchun has proven to be ideal. The city is considered the historic center of China’s automotive industry and has developed into a major industrial hub over recent decades. Although Changchun, with its several million inhabitants, is considered a rather “small” city by Chinese standards, it offers excellent conditions and close proximity to important customers for international industrial companies.
One of the key success factors has always been the dedicated local team. Many employees have been with BBG Asia for many years, similar to our headquarters in Mindelheim. Since 2022, the company has been led by Aleck Zhang as Managing Director. Aleck Zhang has been part of BBG Asia for 17 years. He started his career in sales and project management before taking over the position of Managing Director in 2022.
The success of BBG Asia today is also thanks to people who had the courage to break new ground. One of them is Christian Grams, who moved to China as the company’s first General Manager and played a major role in building up the site. He spent seven years in China with BBG and, together with the local team, laid the foundation for today’s success
We have also overcome challenging times together. In particular, the impact of the COVID pandemic, with long lockdowns, strict travel restrictions, and extensive quarantine regulations, created major challenges for BBG Asia and for international collaboration within the BBG Group. This makes us even more grateful today for the strong team spirit, the trust of our customers, and the commitment of our employees.
Close cooperation between our locations in Germany, China, the USA, and Mexico remains an essential part of our group of companies. Especially for our headquarters in Mindelheim, our international presence offers major advantages, whether through customer proximity, fast service, or the worldwide exchange of know-how.
“We are proud of what has grown from the beginnings in 2006. The success of BBG Asia is based on trust, long-term collaboration, and the commitment of many people in China and Germany. We are very grateful for this and look forward to continuing this journey together in the future,” says Hans Brandner.
“20 years of BBG Asia stand for courage, international collaboration, and impressive development — and at the same time for the confidence to continue shaping a successful future together,” Brandner adds.
The 20th anniversary of BBG Asia was celebrated with a Family Day together with employees and their families. They enjoyed a varied day with shared activities and excellent food. In their speeches, Hans Brandner, Aleck Zhang, and Martina Barton, former Board Member of BBG Asia, looked back on the development of the past 20 years and especially thanked the employees and their families for their support, loyalty, and trust.