VARTA AG (; german: link=no, Vertrieb, Aufladung, Reparatur transportabler Akkumulatoren – ) is a German company manufacturing

batteries Battery most often refers to: * Electric battery, a device that provides electrical power * Battery (crime), a crime involving unlawful physical contact Battery may also refer to: Energy source *Automotive battery, a device to provide power t ...

for global automotive, industrial, and consumer markets.

History

VARTA was founded by Adolf Müller in 1887, and established in 1904 as a subsidiary of

Accumulatoren-Fabrik AFA The Accumulatoren-Fabrik Aktiengesellschaft (AFA) was a manufacturer of lead-acid batteries established in 1890 by Adolph Müller of the ''Accumulatoren-Fabrik Tudorschen Systems Müller & Einbeck'' with the participation of the Siemens AG and AEG ...

. After World War I, VARTA together with AFA was acquired by German industrialist

Günther Quandt Günther Quandt (28 July 1881 – 30 December 1954) was a German industrialist who founded an industrial empire that today includes BMW and Altana, a car and chemical company, respectively. Between, 1921 and 1929 he was married to Magda Ritsch ...

and Industrialist and VARTA CEO Dr. Carl Hermann Roderbourg. After World War II, most of the VARTA shares passed from Günther Quandt to his son, Herbert Quandt. The subsidiary in East Berlin was later occupied by the Soviet Union, and was named BAE Batterien. In 1977, VARTA AG's businesses were split up by Herbert Quandt; battery and plastics operations were retained in VARTA AG, but the pharmaceuticals and specialty chemical businesses were transferred to a new company called

Altana Altana AG (styled as ALTANA) is a German chemical company headquartered in Wesel. It was created in 1977 through the spin-off of divisions of the Varta Group. The first CEO was Herbert Quandt. The group comprises the divisions BYK (coating ad ...

, and the electrical business was spun off into a company called CEAG. Herbert Quandt left the company's shares to his children. In 2002, the consumer battery activities (excluding

button cell A button cell, watch battery, or coin battery is a small single-cell battery shaped as a squat cylinder typically in diameter and high — resembling a button. Stainless steel usually forms the bottom body and positive terminal of the cell; i ...

s) were sold to Rayovac. The automotive battery business was acquired by

Johnson Controls Johnson Controls International is an American Irish-domiciled multinational conglomerate headquartered in Cork, Ireland, that produces fire, HVAC, and security equipment for buildings. As of mid-2019, it employed 105,000 people in around 2, ...

. The

and

home energy storage Home energy storage devices store electricity locally, for later consumption. Electrochemical energy storage products, also known as "Battery Energy Storage System" (or "BESS" for short), at their heart are rechargeable batteries, typically based on ...

businesses were acquired by Montana Tech Components. By 2006, VARTA AG had sold all its operating divisions, and the Quandts had sold their shares. VARTA AG then liquidated its remaining assets, contracts, liabilities and shareholdings, in particular the manufacture and sale of VARTA batteries, while continuing its company businesses. On 19 October 2017 shares of the VARTA AG started flotation on the stock market (

Prime Standard The Prime Standard is a market segment of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange that includes companies which comply with transparency standards higher than those of the General Standard, which is regulated by law. The Prime Standard includes quarterly rep ...

). With an emission price of 17,50 Euro the company had a value of 668,5 Mio. Euro On 2 January 2019, American company Energizer Holdings, Inc. took control over VARTA's consumer battery segment. On 29 May 2019, VARTA AG signed an agreement to acquire the VARTA Consumer Batteries business for the Europe, Middle East and Africa regions (including the manufacturing and distribution facilities in Germany) from Energizer Holdings, which was completed on 2 January 2020.

Products

VARTA-PoliFlex.jpg, Poliflex-Accumulator from Varta Microbattery VARTA Akkumulatoren.jpg, Rechargeable batteries from Varta Lithium-Ionen-Accumulator.jpg, Lithium-Ion-Accumulator Battery D-Cell Varta Pertrix 1970s detail.jpg, zinc–carbon battery: monocel with the design of the 1970s Fotothek df roe-neg 0006335 017 Batterie von Pertrix detail.jpg, battery from Pertrix 121020-Varta-Pertrix-15V.jpg, Varta Pertrix 74, 15-Volt-Battery Li-coincells.jpg, Different types of

coin cell A button cell, watch battery, or coin battery is a small single-cell battery shaped as a squat cylinder typically in diameter and high — resembling a button. Stainless steel usually forms the bottom body and positive terminal of the cell; in ...

s from Varta Varta Akku-Kombi-Lader.jpg, Varta combi charger with 2 Varta NiCd accumulators (2100mAh, AA) VARTA LED Taschenlampe.jpg, LED- torch light produced by VARTA Solar-Charger Varta.jpg, Varta Solar Charger Model 57082 with two 2100mAh Ni–MH rechargeable batteries

References

External links

*
Official website for VARTA Automotive Batteries
{{DEFAULTSORT:Varta Companies listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange Electric power companies of Germany Manufacturing companies established in 1887 German brands Consumer battery manufacturers Motor vehicle battery manufacturers 1887 establishments in Germany Companies in the TecDAX Companies in the MDAX Quandt family