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Source: LIQUI MOLY announcement
ULM, Germany — What do October 1, 1990 and February 22, 2022 have in common for LIQUI MOLY? They each mark a turning point with the German engine oil producer. After more than three decades of serving the people and the company, Managing Director Ernst Prost is now retiring.
“The field has been tilled. But over the past 31 years, we have plowed the company and the industry vigorously,” said Prost looking back. “We,” that is Prost and Günter Hiermaier. On October 1, 1990, they moved together from a car care product manufacturer located on the Danube upriver to what was then still a small company in Ulm. Prost began as Head of Sales and Marketing and Hiermaier was employed as Retail Sales Manager Germany.
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“More than 30 years ago, he was my apprentice, which was the name of given to trainees at the time,” said Prost. “We were always together.”
Now the two are taking separate career paths. Hiermaier, who has been the second Managing Director since 2018, will now lead the fortunes of LIQUI MOLY’s on his own.
“We still celebrated our pearl 30th wedding anniversary. But now it’s definitely over for me,” said Prost with a wink. “The past 30 years have been strung together like pearls on a necklace. Each of them is a treasure trove of my life.”
Prost and his team turned LIQUI MOLY around and transformed the small additives – including brake fluid — company into Germany’s most popular motor oil brand, which is active in 150 countries. In 1990, the company posted a turnover of around €15 million with 118 employees. At the end of 2021, this amounted to €733 million and 1,008 employees.
By 1998, the trained mechanic Prost gradually bought company shares from the founding family and became managing partner. In this way, he saved the company from going out of business and secured dozens of jobs. The entry into the engine oil business provided the decisive boost to growth.
“Actually, it was crazy to get into this business. Suddenly you’re a small fish in the shark basin. In competition with the largest companies in the world,” said Prost of his decision at the time to expand the pure additive business on a broader footing.
In 2006, the Meguin mineral oil plants in Saarlouis became a wholly owned subsidiary. This marked the final step towards becoming an independent engine oil manufacturer. In 2017, Ernst Prost sold his shares to the Würth Group, but remained employed as Managing Director.
To view the entire announcement, click HERE.
