MAHLE GmbH is a German

automotive parts This is a list of auto parts, mostly for vehicles using internal combustion engines which are manufactured components of automobiles: Car body and main parts Body components, including trim Doors Windows Low voltage/auxiliary ele ...

manufacturer based in

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; Swabian: ; ) is the capital and largest city of the German state of Baden-Württemberg. It is located on the Neckar river in a fertile valley known as the ''Stuttgarter Kessel'' (Stuttgart Cauldron) and lies an hour from the Sw ...

, Germany. It is one of the largest automotive suppliers worldwide. As a manufacturer of components and systems for the combustion engine and its periphery, the company is one of the three largest systems suppliers worldwide for engine systems, filtration, electrics, mechatronics, and thermal management. In 2018, Mahle GmbH sales amounted to over €12.5 billion. MAHLE Hauptverwaltung Stuttgart

, its 71,000 employees work in 160+ production plants and 12 major research and development centers in Germany, Great Britain, United States, Brazil, Japan, China, India, Poland, Spain, Slovenia. Worldwide, over 6000 development engineers and technicians work as partners for MAHLE's customers on new products and systems.

History

Formation

In 1920 the engineer and pilot Hellmuth Hirth established together with others a small workshop in Cannstatt, where he developed and constructed a

two-stroke engine A two-stroke (or two-stroke cycle) engine is a type of internal combustion engine that completes a power cycle with two strokes (up and down movements) of the piston during one power cycle, this power cycle being completed in one revolution of ...

. 26-year-old Hermann Mahle started working for Hellmuth Hirth on 1 December 1920 as the company's seventh employee. The workshop was then called "''Versuchsbau Hellmuth Hirth''". 1 December 1920 is acknowledged as the birthday of today's MAHLE Group. It soon became clear that the workshop would not survive by only conducting engine tests. So the need arose to build a profitable line of production in order to finance ongoing engine tests. At that time, in the automobile production, pistons were generally made of cast iron. ''Versuchsbau Hellmuth Hirth'' decided to attempt to build

light alloy Light or visible light is electromagnetic radiation that can be perceived by the human eye. Visible light is usually defined as having wavelengths in the range of 400–700 nanometres (nm), corresponding to frequencies of 750–420 terahe ...

pistons for combustion engines. On 1 November 1922 Hermann Mahle's brother, Ernst Mahle, joined the factory as Head of Engineering. In 1924 the company merged with Chemische Fabrik Griesheim-Elektron, the inventors of the

magnesium Magnesium is a chemical element with the symbol Mg and atomic number 12. It is a shiny gray metal having a low density, low melting point and high chemical reactivity. Like the other alkaline earth metals (group 2 of the periodic ...

alloy Elektron, and was renamed ''Elektronmetall GmbH''. In 1927, the company developed the first controlled-expansion piston in Germany and in 1931, the world's first aluminium ring carrier piston for Diesel engines. Following this, piston technology was steadily improved. In 1931, aero engine manufacturing was split off as a separate company, Hirth-Moroten GmbH.Gunston, Bill (1998). ''World Encyclopaedia of Aero Engines'', 4th Edition. Patrick Stephens Ltd (PSL). In 1938 the conversion into MAHLE KG took place and the new company logo was introduced. The company expanded, and before WW2 it was the only company in Germany manufacturing die-cast magnesium alloy products. During the war, the

Bad Cannstatt Bad Cannstatt, also called Cannstatt (until July 23, 1933) or Kannstadt (until 1900 in Germany, 1900), is one of the outer stadtbezirke, or city boroughs, of Stuttgart in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Bad Cannstatt is the oldest and most populous ...

company made alloy pistons ranging from those for small cars to pistons with a 40 cm bore for submarine engines (such as the 522 litre diesel

MAN A man is an adult male human. Prior to adulthood, a male human is referred to as a boy (a male child or adolescent). Like most other male mammals, a man's genome usually inherits an X chromosome from the mother and a Y chromo ...

M9V 40/46). The

Fellbach Fellbach () is a mid-sized town on the north-east edge of Stuttgart in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. With a population of approximately 45.430 is the second largest town in the District Rems-Murr-Kreis. The area of the town is . Fellbach was fir ...

plant accounted for 70% of Germany's output of magnesium, aluminium and zinc alloy pressure die castings.{{cite book , last=Office of Technical Services , title=Bibliography of Scientific and Industrial Reports , others=Vol. 4, No. 6 , date=7 February 1947 , publisher=United States Department of Commerce , page=491 , url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Ow6VfzIO-20C&pg=PA491&dq=Mahle After 1945 new products were developed and produced (''e.g.'', aluminium cylinders with Cromal (chrome plating) surface coatings in 1951). In 1964, the company founders Hermann and Ernst Mahle decided to waive private ownership in their companies and make the companies part of a foundation for public benefit. They renounced the largest part of their personal property and transferred the company shares to the MAHLE Foundation.

Aluminium engines

In 1976 MAHLE placed the first European aluminium engine blocks made in low-pressure die casting ready for series production. In 1988 the composite camshaft is enhanced to production standard, and in 2001 MAHLE presented a cooling concept for pistons in high-speed passenger car Diesel engines. The first all-plastic oil filter in the world followed in 2003. MAHLE developed and constructed its first complete engine in the same year, which was applied in the Formula Student. Today, MAHLE is a predominant system supplier for components of piston systems, cylinder components, valve train systems, air management systems, and liquid management systems, for all well-known automobile manufacturers. In 2010, the MAHLE Group generated sales in excess of €5.2

billion Billion is a word for a large number, and it has two distinct definitions: *1,000,000,000, i.e. one thousand million, or (ten to the ninth power), as defined on the short scale. This is its only current meaning in English. * 1,000,000,000,000, i. ...

. In 2017, the MAHLE Group generated sales in excess of €12.8

Organization

{{As of, 2020, , df=, MAHLE GmbH consists of five business units and four profit centers. Business units consist of:{{cite web, url=http://www.mahle.com/mahle/en/about-mahle/group-organization/, title=MAHLE Group - Business segments, website=www.mahle.com * Engine Systems and Components: Produces

piston A piston is a component of reciprocating engines, reciprocating pumps, gas compressors, hydraulic cylinders and pneumatic cylinders, among other similar mechanisms. It is the moving component that is contained by a cylinder and is made gas-t ...

cylinders A cylinder (from ) has traditionally been a three-dimensional solid, one of the most basic of curvilinear geometric shapes. In elementary geometry, it is considered a prism with a circle as its base. A cylinder may also be defined as an in ...

, and related parts * Filtration and Engine Peripherals: Produces filters, oil coolers and pumps * Thermal Management: Produces cooling systems for batteries and powertrain components of electric cars * Electronics and Mechatronics: electric drives, actuators and auxiliaries, and control and power electronics product groups * Aftermarket: As its name suggest, produces

spare part A spare part, spare, service part, repair part, or replacement part, is an interchangeable part that is kept in an inventory and used for the repair or refurbishment of defective equipment/units. Spare parts are an important feature of logist ...

s and accessories for the

automotive aftermarket The automotive aftermarket is the secondary market of the automotive industry, concerned with the manufacturing, remanufacturing, distribution, retailing, and installation of all vehicle parts, chemicals, equipment, and accessories, ''after'' the ...

sector

Management Board

The Mahle Management Board consists of the following members:{{cite web, title=Mahle Group{{! Management Board, url=http://www.mahle.com/mahle/en/about-mahle/management_board/, language=en * Arnd Franz (since 2022) * Anke Felder (since 2020) * Jumana Al-Sibai (since 2021) * Wilhelm Emperhoff (since 2012) * Georg Dietz (since 2018) * Markus Kapaun (since 2022) * Martin Weidlich (since 2020)

References