Heinz Trox – a successful entrepreneur for the past 55 years

Neukirchen-Vluyn: Heinz Trox, majority shareholder and former CEO of TROX GmbH for many years, celebrates on 29th June, 2014, his 80th birthday and 55 years in business. To mark this occasion, a reception will be held on 30th June, at the International Head Office of TROX GmbH, where Heinz Trox will welcome some 80 guests, among them business partners, long-time friends, public figures from politics, and senior executives of the company.  

Since his father Heinrich Trox founded the company more than half a century ago, in 1951, Heinz Trox has been extraordinarily successful. A lifetime achievement that only very few entrepreneurs in Germany can look back on. Today the company employs a total of 3700 people worldwide and generated sales of more than €416 million in 2013.

Heinz Trox was born in 1934, in Essen, in the heavily industrialised Ruhr region of Germany. After completing a mechanical engineering course at Munich University and an additional economics and industrial engineering course, Heinz Trox left Germany in 1958 for the US in order to study business administration at Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio. He started his professional career as head of department and quality and productivity specialist with the Air Conditioning Division of American Standard (Ideal Standard) in Cleveland, Ohio. 

In 1959, Heinz Trox and his brother Klaus joined the family business at their father's wish. While Klaus was responsible for the domestic market, Heinz Trox focused on international markets, a task for which he was ideally prepared because of his having lived and worked abroad. Under the leadership of Heinz Trox, the company quickly gained a foothold in all European markets and won significant market shares. 

After the passing of their father in 1970, Heinz and Klaus Trox took over the management of the company. When his brother Klaus died, Heinz Trox became CEO in 1988, and in 2001 he moved to the Supervisory Board.

Securing the future

In 1991, Heinz Trox established the foundation that bears his name in order to secure the future of TROX and the jobs of its employees; he has since completely reorganised the company's shareholder structure. 83 percent of the TROX GmbH share capital are currently held by Heinz Trox, 9 percent by the Heinz Trox Foundation. The remaining 8 percent are available to the employee share programme that aims at increasing the long-term loyalty of executives to TROX. Eventually the shares of Heinz Trox will be passed over to the Heinz Trox Foundation. 

In 2013 the share capital was increased from €17 to €30 million. With its continually growing capital endowment of over €10 million, the Heinz Trox Foundation is on a firm footing and aids in securing the future of TROX GmbH as a world market leader in the ventilation and air conditioning sector; it also helps to secure the jobs and the continued existence of the brand name TROX. 

Today Heinz Trox can look back on a company with a solid financial structure and a strategy that is set for future growth and for strengthening the company's leading position in years to come. The past few years have seen a strong commitment to a one-stop shop strategy, i.e. investments into the development from a component manufacturer to a system provider, including the development and enhancement of X-CUBE air handling units and the acquisition of X-FANS building fans and of parts of the BSH group. 

The worldwide expansion of the TROX GROUP is also on a good way. With subsidiary companies in 26 countries on all 5 continents, 14 production facilities, and importers and representatives, TROX is present in over 70 countries.

Picture: Heinz Trox, founder of the Heinz Trox Foundation, majority shareholder, former CEO and Chairman of the Supervisory Board of TROX GmbH. 

For further information or should you have any questions about TROX, please contact:

Christine Roßkothen
Corporate Marketing
voice: +49 (0) 2845 202464
fax: +49 (0) 2845 202587
c.rosskothen@trox.de
www.troxtechnik.com