An acquisition moves mountains

An acquisition moves mountains

The city of Wieselburg is developing extremely dynamically. Besides, you wouldn’t believe what a natural boundary like a mountain, no matter how small, can do.” Harald Roth explains how he and his brother Gerhard came to be interested in a second location, only about ten kilometers away from their company. When a suitable existing business in Wieselburg came up for sale, the brothers took advantage of the opportunity and struck. They did not allow themselves to be unsettled by the corona crisis. The location in Wieselburg was taken over in January 2021, in the middle of the crisis. However, there is no crisis for the Roths: “Business is stable without any major downturns,” explains Harald Roth. 

Right now it is paying off that the company is broadly positioned: Roth KSL, as the company is called, is the only independent workshop far and wide that can paint trucks over 3.5 tons in addition to cars. As if that weren't enough, there is also an industrial shop where you can paint various machines and metal parts for industrial applications, including staircase railings. “There's actually nothing that they don't paint here,” says someone who should know during a local inspection of the automotive industry: Mario Litzellachner, Key Account Manager at Axalta Refinish and the company's paint partner with the Standox repair paint. 

All qualities from a single source

“As a Standox paint partner, we match every color thanks to 100 percent digital color management with computer-controlled color determination and web-based paint mixing,” says Roth. And: “Standox can supply us with everything we need: high-quality car paints, special products for trucks and finally our own products for industrial painting.”
“All qualities from a single source,” as Litzellachner emphasizes. In the truck and industrial sectors, numerous paint qualities, gloss levels, effects and structures are required due to different substrates and surfaces. The paint specialist offers all of this. Roth also uses the variety of applications within the company when training employees: “The industrial sector is well suited for apprentices, with trucks it is about working on a large area, with cars the focus is on choosing colors.” 

Looking for apprentices 

Speaking of training: “Skilled personnel are hard to find,” complains Harald Roth. That's why his company trains apprentices itself. There are currently four people, but: “We are looking for more apprentices!” Corona has made it even more difficult because young people can no longer come and get a taste. By the way, Harald Roth is a trained car mechanic and locksmith, brother Gerhard is a car mechanic with an ÖAMTC past. 

Axalta sees itself not just as a supplier of paints, but as a real business partner. The company has been introduced to major customers with fleets through the Automotive Repair Network (ARN) and is available to provide marketing advice and assistance if necessary. “We can also do things outside of the paint business,” says Litzellachner. A classic win-win situation, because at the end of the day, even more paint is needed. 

Roth KSL operates a motor vehicle workshop and is therefore a full-service master business that offers everything the customer needs for cars, from service to §57 pickerel inspections to tire changes and car glass repairs. This also includes rental vehicles (seven cars and four buses). On top of that, the Roths trade in used cars. 

There are currently 19 employees at the main location in Kemmelbach and four more people at the new location in Wieselburg. In Kemmelbach, which has already been expanded and expanded several times, there are currently two paint booths for cars and one for trucks. There is another paint booth in operation over the mountain (actually it is a hill) in Wieselburg.