thyssenkrupp’s steering systems business celebrates 75th anniversary

thyssenkrupp Presta, the steering systems unit of the thyssenkrupp Group, has today celebrated its 75th anniversary at its headquarters in Eschen, Liechtenstein. At the ceremony, H.R.H Hereditary Prince Alois of Liechtenstein and thyssenkrupp Group CEO Heinrich Hiesinger were joined by numerous high-ranking business and society representatives from the Principality of Liechtenstein. The steering systems supplier can look back on a dynamic and successful history. In recent decades it has evolved from a components manufacturer to a global mechantronics company with advanced software capabilities.

Dr. Heinrich Hiesinger, CEO of thyssenkrupp, praises the company’s achievements: “thyssenkrupp Presta is defined by its outstanding technological expertise, entrepreneurial courage, and strategic vision. This has enabled the company to successfully master the challenges of the last few decades. For me the company therefore exemplifies the development of the thyssenkrupp Group as a whole. Our transformation from a materials company into a diversified industrial group with strong systems and software capabilities for diverse sectors and markets is in full swing and is reaping success in many areas. thyssenkrupp Presta is one such area.”

Major orders from OEMs have kept the company on a consistent growth track for many years. In electric power-assisted steering systems alone, orders worth some eight billion euros have recently been won. To carry out the orders the company is currently investing around 200 million euros in new production sites in China, Mexico and Hungary. Production supplies are to start from the coming year.

Guido Durrer, CEO of thyssenkrupp Presta: “We’ve succeeded in evolving “Presta” from a components manufacturer into a supplier of highly complex steering systems. Today we are one of the world’s leading steering systems specialists, supplying numerous renowned OEMs in Europe, North America and Asia with our products. We owe all this primarily to our employees here in Liechtenstein and at our sites around the world. With their skills and innovativeness we can embrace future challenges with confidence.”

Press- und Stanzwerk AG was established in Eschen in 1941 and in its early years produced mainly munitions components, bolts and screws. In the early 1960s the company expanded its product range and broke into the automotive supply industry. From producing small extruded parts it gradually progressed onto steering columns and steering gears to complete steering systems. In 1991 Presta Steering became part of the thyssenkrupp Group. thyssenkrupp Presta was also the origin of the Group’s camshaft production unit. Assembled camshafts were first produced in Liechtenstein in the mid-nineties. In 2007 these activities were combined in the Camshafts business unit, which now manufactures engine components such as assembled camshafts and cylinder head cover modules at eight sites around the world.

Today thyssenkrupp Presta employs some 7,000 people at 16 production and development sites in eleven countries on four continents. With around 2,200 employees, thyssenkrupp Presta’s Liechtenstein site is one of the country’s biggest employers. The company produces steering systems for more than 20 million vehicles every year. thyssenkrupp Presta is a leading company in the production of steering components and steering columns using cold-forging technology. The company also develops new steering system technologies such as “steer-by-wire” systems which require no direct mechanical link between the steering wheel and the car wheels and will permit entirely new steering and assist systems in the vehicles of the future.