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Award winners Europe Austria
Peter Mitterbauer Sr. and Peter Mitterbauer Jr. Miba AG
Family businesses often start with the extraordinary effort and vision of the first generation, with the next generation building on that legacy but following its own approach. Miba, one of Austria’s top technology and engineering groups, is a good example of this. Recently transitioned to third-generation control, the company established by the Mitterbauer family has overcome all the challenges it has encountered over its nearly 90-year history, thanks to the tenacity and entrepreneurship of each generation.
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| EY Family Business Yearbook 2016
“There is an extraordinary legacy at Miba. And I have a responsibility to continue that legacy.” Peter Mitterbauer Jr., Supervisory Board Member, Miba AG
EY Family Business Yearbook 2016 |
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Award winners Europe Austria
When telling the story of Miba’s history, Peter Mitterbauer Sr. likes to start by mentioning something about his father that he believes is crucial to understanding the success of the family’s engineering business. “One of the driving forces of Miba is the idea started by my father of always wanting to solve problems, particularly the ones others said could not be solved,” he says. Franz Mitterbauer, as his son says, was so good at solving problems that he created a company that is still in existence and, indeed, still thriving nearly 90 years later. Now under the control of the third generation, Miba’s continued success is testament to his legacy.
Miba has a big global presence One of Austria’s top companies, Miba makes components and highly specialized materials for cars, trains, planes, ships, wind turbines, medical equipment and a host of other engine-driven products. Its components are so ubiquitous that there is barely a car or train in existence today that does not have a Miba component in it. So it is hardly surprising that Miba has such a big global presence, with manufacturing facilities and sales offices in more than 20 locations around the world, including 4 production facilities in the US. Altogether, Miba employs more than 5,000 people and has revenues of close to €700m. Not bad for a business that started off, 01
In 1963, Miba started making products through sintering — a process involving the compression of metal powder mixes at high temperatures.
products. In the mid-1950s, the Miba brand was created and the company began exporting. In 1963, Miba started making products through sintering — a process involving the compression of metal powder mixes at high temperatures — and this has since become the basis of one of the most important divisions for the 02
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01 Miba was founded in 1927 in Laakirchen, Austria, by Franz Mitterbauer; 02 Franz and Peter Mitterbauer Sr. (left and middle) with Austrian Minister of Trade Andreas Staribacher (right); 03 and 04 Miba parts and production facilities in the 1960s.
in 1927, as an engine repair shop in the small northern Austrian town of Laakirchen, where Miba still has its global headquarters. The manufacturing side of the business got going after the Second World War, when Franz started making engine-bearing 26
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business. Other divisions were started in the 1970s and 1980s. After Franz’s death in 1983, Peter Sr. took over the management of Miba and propelled the company into international markets through a series of acquisitions and the opening of factories and sales offices outside of Austria. He believes that the
internationalization of the company is his greatest legacy. “Sooner or later, a business like ours needs to grow outside of its home market, or else it will fail,” he says. In 2013, Peter Sr. stepped down as Chairman of the Management Board and chose his son Peter Mitterbauer Jr. to take the helm. Peter Sr. says that managing a smooth succession is crucial for family businesses, but that it is something they often get wrong. “The big weakness for family businesses is generational change,” he says. “But when it is seen by the staff and the wider community to be handled transparently, openly and professionally, I think we, as family businesses, become invincible.” Clearly, with such strong sentiments, the pressure was on Peter Sr. to handle succession at his own company as well as possible. There was a checklist of requirements — familiar to most family businesses — before it could be achieved. To start with, the leader of the next generation would need an engineering degree and, afterward some outside experience, preferably in sales. An MBA would be useful, as would a successful track record as leader of one of the divisions of the business.
To the relief of Peter Sr., Peter Jr.’s resumé fit the bill almost exactly. He gained a degree in Mechanical Engineering and, later, an MBA from INSEAD. He worked as head of sales for an Austrian wine glass company and, subsequently, led a division of the family business.
Successful succession planning “Miba has been lucky to find a qualified member of the family to run the business,” says Peter Sr. about his son. “His appointment was not an automatic decision. It had to go to a top-quality individual and not necessarily a family member.” Today, Peter Jr. is the only member of the family on the operational side of the business. His sister Therese Niss manages the family’s holding company, Mitterbauer Beteiligungs AG. Back in the mid-1980s, Peter Sr. listed part of Miba on the Vienna Stock Exchange. The move was designed to streamline the company’s ownership by buying out other family shareholders. Only 23% of the non-voting shares were listed and, at the end of last year, the family bought back the listed shares, EY Family Business Yearbook 2016 |
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“When generational transition is seen by the staff and the wider community to be handled transparently, openly and professionally, I think we, as family businesses, become invincible.”
Award winners Europe Austria
Peter Mitterbauer Jr.
and Miba once again became a totally privately owned business. “The listing no longer made sense for us, and we no longer need external finance as much as back then,” says Peter Jr. “But the process shows how family businesses can respond to changing times and can use public markets to help them.” For the workers at Miba’s factories and offices in Laakirchen, the company’s return to complete family ownership should provide reassurance regarding the continued strong link between the company and the town and surrounding region. “The commitment to our region is important for Miba,” says Peter Sr. “As long as we own this business, that commitment will continue.” Of course, that commitment is important for all the staff at Miba, regardless of where they are located.
Responsibility to continue the legacy
To ensure the company’s continued success, approx. 4% of the company’s sales revenues goes into research and development. Peter Jr. is the only member of the family on the operational side of the business.
Peter Sr. says that family businesses have to put extra effort into developing employees, because family control can often give the impression that there is an oppressive glass ceiling blocking nonfamily members’ career prospects. “The staff need to know that they can make a difference,” he says. “We give our managers the freedom to drive the business.” Asked what it means to be in charge of a family business, Peter Jr. says it presents him with a huge opportunity, but also a huge responsibility. “There is an extraordinary legacy at Miba,” he says. “And I have a responsibility to continue that legacy.” To ensure the company’s continued success, a great deal of effort is channeled into research and development, with approx. 4% of the company’s sales revenues going into R&D. Given that many of Miba’s products are destined for the automobile industry, does the family fear the threat to the internal combustion engine posed by electric cars? Peter Jr. does not think so, and he adds that the internal combustion engine still has plenty of life left in it.
Peter Sr. took over the management of Miba in 1983 and propelled the company into international markets.
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The overriding impression is that Miba and the Mitterbauer family will not be too fazed by the challenges new technology
Miba employs more than 5,000 people.
may present. And then, of course, there is Franz’s problemsolving legacy. With the company’s commitment to that legacy, the third generation and beyond should be able to drive the company forward in the right direction for years to come.
Peter Mitterbauer Sr. Supervisory Board Member
Peter Mitterbauer Jr. Chairman of the Management Board Company name:
Second and third
Generation(s): Founded:
Miba AG
1927 in Laakirchen, Austria
Industries:
Employees: Turnover (2014/15):
Engine and automotive industry More than 5,000 €669.3m EY Family Business Yearbook 2016 |
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