We at K.E.R.N - Die Nachfolgespezialisten are always pleased when a generational change in medium-sized businesses succeeds and jobs are secured. This was precisely the case with the change of baton at the Saalfelder EPSa (Elektronik und Präzisionsbau Saalfeld GmbH). This was reported in the Thüringer Allgemeine Zeitung on 14 December 2015.

As part of the change of baton at Saalfelder EPSa, the newly added managing director Ali Sahin, together with Süd-Beteiligungen GmbH, is taking over the shareholder shares as part of a management buy-in (MBI). This generational change will enable the electronics manufacturing services specialist based in the Thuringian Forest to secure its future and the future of its 209 employees. The focus of the medium-sized company is on the production of industrial electronics as well as electronic components and devices for medical technology. EPSa is also a leading provider of solutions and services in the fields of telematics and information technology. Overall, the company can look back on a very stable and positive business development in its business fields.

Good preparation for business succession paid off

In the process, which lasted almost two years, K.E.R.N - Die Nachfolgespezialisten accompanied the owners in their search for a suitable successor and suitable financing. In the Thüringer Allgemeine Zeitung, K.E.R.N points out that good preparation of a company succession is very important for the success of such a process: “Without an extensive network and thorough preparation of the negotiations, a complex topic such as company succession can hardly be managed”.

We are pleased that we have found a future-oriented continuation of EPSa with Mr Sahin and SüdBG,” explain the founding partners Uwe Schulze and Dr Dieter Simon, who are retiring. The preservation of the current 211 jobs and the development of the company at its location in Thuringia are very important to them.

The new managing partner Ali Sahin was most recently Vice President Sales EMEA for the American semiconductor manufacturer EXAR Inc. and can look back on more than 15 years of international sales activity. He sees his new challenge in particular in the expansion of international sales and is striving for the strategic expansion of EPSa’s positioning.

We want to support EPSa as a central German, innovative company with our network and actively accompany the growth course. We see Mr. Sahin’s commitment as an excellent basis for advancing the company internationally as well,” explains Andreas Müller, Investment Director of SüdBG.

EPSa was founded in 1992 by the two shareholders Dr. Dieter Simon and Uwe Schulze in the course of the takeover of the electronics production of the Carl Zeiss combine as part of a management buy-out (MBO). The business relationship with Carl Zeiss has proven itself to this day ? the medical, microscopy and metrology sectors are the company’s main customers. In the area of manufacturing, EPSa’s core business includes in particular the assembly of printed circuit boards using SMD and THT processes as well as the assembly of entire modules and systems. In addition, painting and encapsulation to protect against climatic influences are offered to customers as added value. In addition, in-house mechanical production and clean-room production increase the vertical range of manufacture. Product developments, primarily in the field of telematics and passenger information systems, are driven forward both by the company’s own R&D capacities and in close cooperation with Thuringian partner companies.