Today, Magirus, one of the world’s leading manufacturers of firefighting technology, presented its employees in Ulm and at its subsidiary sites with a comprehensive transformation plan designed to address changing market conditions and global growth potential. This follows Mutares SE & Co. KGaA's acquisition of Magirus in January 2025 and highlights Magirus's dedication to developing innovation, quality, and customer focus as core values of its corporate DNA.
With its transformation programme, Magirus is responding to changing customer behaviour and focusing on increasing efficiency, internationalisation, and strengthening its product and service portfolio. The company will benefit from the industrial and turnaround expertise of Mutares' experts.
“With Mutares, we have an experienced partner at our side who is actively supporting our transformation and investing specifically in our growth. Together, we are shaping the future of Magirus – with a clear vision and at a rapid pace,” says Thomas Hilse, CEO of Magirus GmbH.
Magirus has ambitious goals: By 2030, annual revenue is to rise to over €750 million and profitability is to be stabilised in the long term. The short-term focus is on significant productivity gains and the associated increase in delivery reliability. Emissions from the company's own production are to be reduced to net zero in the same period. To achieve this, the company is focusing on energy-efficient technologies, the consistent use of renewable energies, and sustainable production standards along the entire value chain. The entire transformation plan essentially comprises 10 points.
10-point plan at the heart of the transformation
- International expansion through the establishment of subsidiaries in Switzerland, Spain, Poland, and the United Arab Emirates; further markets are in preparation.
- Establishment of a network of cost-efficient production sites in Romania and Croatia.
- Innovation offensive in the area of turntable ladders and fire trucks to expand the company's technological leadership position.
- Extensive further development of the ‘Dragon’, the Magirus special vehicle for airports and large-scale firefighting.
- Scaling of production capacities to 350 turntable ladders and over 1,000 fire trucks per year.
- Investment in an expanded equipment portfolio, supported by a specialised product team.
- Expansion of the service network in the DACH region through organic and inorganic growth.
- Establishment of the new Magirus Defense division for civil and military special vehicles.
- Optimization of the corporate structure through targeted reduction of other operating expenses.
- Introduction of a platform organisation with a focus on project execution, product management, and operational excellence.
Strategic outlook
With the measures it has initiated, Magirus aims to substantially strengthen its competitiveness and position the company for the future in the global market. The planned separation from its former parent company IVECO is also proceeding according to plan.
As part of the transformation process, there will be a change in management on 1 July 2025: Thomas Hilse will move to the Supervisory Board, and Fatmir Veselaj, previously Chief Restructuring Officer, will take over operational responsibility for the long-established Ulm-based company as the new CEO.
