BBS was founded in 1970 by Heinrich Baumgartner and Klaus Brand in Schiltach in the Black Forest. The company name is an acronym for Baumgartner Brand Schiltach. Plastic auto body parts were initially manufactured at the plant until 1972, when an innovative three-piece motorsports wheel was designed there. This strongly positioned the company in the motorsports sector. The company continued to expand steadily. Shortly thereafter the first foreign subsidiary was established in France, the three-piece wheels were launched for the retrofit market, and sales on the aftermarket boomed. As a result of these positive developments, BBS went public in 1980, operating under the name BBS Kraftfahrzeugtechnik AG. After three further years, the subsidiaries in Japan and the USA were established, along with the opening of a branch in Italy.
The company celebrated its 25th anniversary in 1995, at the time when Michael Schumacher won the Formula 1 World Championship for the second time with Benetton Renault on BBS wheels. Numerous additional motorsport wins on BBS wheels followed. In addition, the retrofit market was revolutionized in this year with the two-piece RS wheel, which currently has the status of a global design classic.
The Painting and Logistics Center was opened in 2000/2001 on a 7000 square meter space in Herbolzheim. The strategic location, with accessibility to the A5 expressway, enables fast shipping worldwide.
In the course of insolvency in 2007, the company was taken over by the Belgian foundation Punch International NV. On April 1, 2012, Tyrol Equity AG (Innsbruck/Austria) joined co-investor Udo Wendland, to become the majority shareholder of the newly established BBS GmbH. The independent company BBS Motorsport GmbH, whose headquarters and corresponding production site was relocated to Haslach im Kinzigtal, is a subsidiary of BBS Japan Co. Ltd.
In June 2015, the majority share of BBS GmbH has been taken over by NICE Holdings Co., a Korean listed industrial group and they have committed to support the implementation of the BBS growth strategy.
By implementing targeted process optimization, BBS GmbH and the Managing Directors Jürgen Lohmann and Tobias Schleicher, were able to achieve increased productivity, which was applied to intensify trade relations with expansion of the market presence, structured marketing campaigns and the development of a new line of products. Today, BBS is present on the aftermarket with a year-round product portfolio. Original equipment for leading automobile manufacturers is still a core segment of the company, which is a result of BBS's high standards of quality and many years of expertise.
