The products made in Brugg stand out for their advanced technology and their ability to meet the highest expectations for quality. To take just one example, Brugg Kabel AG is one of the few cable makers in the world able to make cable systems and accessories that can handle the highest voltage level presently in use – 550 kilovolts.

Important jobs secure
As a Swiss provider of cable systems, Brugg Kabel AG faces major challenges in the global market. Sustained, intense price pressure and the rising localization of cable production in export markets have established an environment where factors relating to its production site today could lead only to inadequate results. For that reason, in 2019 the BRUGG GROUP’s Cables Division launched a comprehensive transformation strategy titled “ChangeToFit,” incorporating steps to optimize costs and revise the divisional organization. One consequence was an elimination of 56 jobs, which is now complete after being carried through in ways designed to cause the least possible staff hardship. Thanks to the new ownership, the cutback of 180 jobs that had been announced formerly has not been necessary. The cable plant will continue to operate under a full-load strategy, filling orders from Switzerland and other countries. No further layoffs are planned.

Terna S.p.A. an ideal strategic partner
The “ChangeToFit” strategy led to a decision to safeguard the future of the Brugg plant site by selling the Cables Division. In December 2019, it was announced that a majority of the shares of Brugg Kabel AG would be taken over by Terna Energy Solutions s.r.l., a subsidiary of Italy’s Terna S.p.A. That process has now been completed as of March 1, 2020. The BRUGG GROUP has thus gained an ideal strategic partner for its cable business – a large, capable market player who will help shape a long-term successful future for Brugg Kabel AG. The BRUGG GROUP will retain a minority interest in Brugg Kabel AG. BRUGG eConnect AG, formerly part of Brugg Kabel AG, will remain with the BRUGG GROUP, and operates in the markets for wind energy, e-mobility and machine construction. The factory properties of Brugg Kabel AG also remain the property of the BRUGG GROUP and were transferred to Brugg Immobilien AG. Brugg Kabel AG’s production and administration, parts of which were formerly located in nearby Windisch, have been brought together at the site in Brugg.

A successful fiscal 2019
Brugg Kabel AG has held its own well in the face of a difficult market environment. The “ChangeToFit” strategy already increased productivity considerably in 2019. The completed restructuring and a successful market expansion have improved profit margins substantially. The company has maintained its market position in the Swiss market, and has landed strategically important projects abroad, especially in the United Arab Emirates and China.  

Transformation
The transformation from a pure-play cable maker to a versatile provider of systems and services will continue in the company’s 124th year, under its new owner. Brugg Kabel AG will concentrate more heavily on full service in all aspects of distributing, planning, delivering, making and maintaining cable systems, including perfectly matched accessories. It will continue to offer first-rate cables and a wide range of accessories to meet the needs of low and medium-voltage grids as well.

Brugg Kabel AG will be especially focusing on expanding its maintenance business, and also on advanced training at the Brugg Cables Academy, which provides efficient, competitive support for clients from the electric delivery industry in maintaining their systems.  

As the energy transformation advances – with its increasing focus on socially and ecologically sustainable solutions – major investments in the power transmission industry can be expected to continue. Terna S.p.A. will open up further opportunities for Brugg Kabel AG to innovate, especially because the new majority shareholder relies heavily on sustainable technologies.

Agostino Scornajenchi, CFO of the Terna Group and Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Brugg Kabel AG, says: “In the important phase of upheaval that the European energy sector is now undergoing, this industry initiative will make it possible to combine the expertise of one of Europe’s largest grid operators with the specialized skills and quality products of Brugg Kabel AG.”

Environment
“Switzerland,” says Samuel Ansorge, CEO of Brugg Kabel AG, “is still an important market, where we supply electric power utilities with reliable cables, accessories and services, and work with them to develop solutions for the future.” The latest example: on the “Gäbihübel” near Bözberg / Riniken, the company helped put Switzerland’s first 380 kV cable system into operation as part of the cabling of a 380 kV line for Swissgrid.
 
As a supplier of underground cables, Brugg Kabel AG makes a key contribution to today’s electric power transmission – which is taking increasing account of protecting the landscape and the environment. With Terna as its new majority shareholder, Brugg Kabel AG will remain hard at work on its innovative developments in recyclable materials. Says CEO Samuel Ansorge: “Our vision is environmentally friendly cables made of materials that can be recycled later.”

Press contact
Carla De Giorgi, Head, Marketing Communication & Management Support
Phone: +41 56 460 35 22; Email: carla.degiorgi@brugg.com

About the companies

Brugg Kabel AG
Brugg Kabel AG, which operates under the name Brugg Cables, is known for all-around solutions, skill and Swiss quality in electric power delivery. The company, founded in 1896, is Switzerland’s leading cable manufacturer, and sells its high, medium and low-voltage cables and fittings to the international systems sector. At its in-house research and development department, and in close collaboration with its clients, it is constantly at work on innovative new products for the highest voltage levels, and for the complex cabling of power delivery systems. Brugg Cables has 320 employees, and has been owned by Italian power utility Terna S.p.A. since March 1, 2020. The BRUGG GROUP continues to hold a minority interest. –  www.bruggcables.com


Terna
Terna S.p.A. (Trasmissione Elettricità Rete Nazionale), headquartered in Rome, is Europe’s largest power grid operator. With a staff of 4,300 employees and revenues of EUR 2.3 billion, Terna is a successful operator in the high and ultrahigh-voltage grid in Italy, Europe, and some locations overseas. Terna manages some 75,000 km of high-voltage lines, and is playing a key role in transforming the electric power market toward using environmentally friendly sources. – www.terna.it/en

BRUGG GROUP
In 1896, Gottlieb Suhner founded a cable factory in Brugg, that ultimately evolved into the BRUGG GROUP and today consists the business units rope technology, pipe systems, measuring and control technology, real estate and eConnect. Approximately 1,500 employees continue to work for the following divisions or companies belonging to the BRUGG GROUP:

BRUGG Ropes
BRUGG Pipes
BRUGG Process Control
BRUGG Real Estate
BRUGG eConnect AG

In these business areas the BRUGG GROUP is represented with 19 production sites and 17 sales organisations in all important industrial countries. – www.brugg.com