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{{Short description|German manufacturer of licence plates}}
{{use mdy dates|date=January 2022}}
{{use American English|date=January 2022}}
{{Infobox company
| name = Erich Utsch AG
| logo = Utsch AG-Logo.svg
| logo_alt = Logo of Utsch
| type = [[Privately held company|Private]]
| industry = [[Manufacturing]]
| founded = {{Start date and age|1961}}
| founder = Erich Utsch
| hq_location_city = [[Siegen]]
| hq_location_country = Germany
| area_served = Worldwide
| key_people = {{ublist|Dominic Höffgen ([[Chief Executive Officer|CEO]])|Ulrich Waldschmidt ([[Chairman]] of the [[Supervisory Board]])}}
| products = Vehicle license plates
| revenue = {{increase}} [[Euro|€]]84.9 million <ref name="bundesanzeiger.de">http://www.bundesanzeiger.de</ref>
| revenue_year = 2021
| num_employees = {{increase}} 413 <ref name="bundesanzeiger.de">http://www.bundesanzeiger.de</ref>
| num_employees_year = 2021
| website = {{URL|utsch.com}}
}}
'''Erich Utsch AG''' is a [[manufacturing]] company headquartered in [[Siegen]], Germany.<ref>{{Citation|title=Erich Utsch AG|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/profile/company/7113733Z:GR|publisher=[[Bloomberg L.P.|Bloomberg]]|access-date=2022-01-04}}</ref> It was founded in 1961 as a [[family business]] and sold to external investors in 2016. Utsch is specialized in [[Motor vehicle registration|vehicle registration]] and identification,<ref>{{Citation|last=Weber|first=Stefan|title=Sicherheitskonzepte mit einem Stück Blech.|date=2002-05-06|newspaper=[[Süddeutsche Zeitung]]|page=27|trans-title=Safety Concepts With a Piece of Sheet Metal.|language=de}}</ref> particularly [[Vehicle registration plate|license plates]].<ref>{{Citation|last=Weikard|first=André|title=Vom Erfolg geprägt|date=2014-10-27|url=https://www.focus.de/finanzen/news/erich-utsch-ag-weltmarktfuehrer-aus-der-provinz-dieser-mann-versorgt-die-welt-mit-auto-kennzeichen_id_4227098.html|magazine=Focus|pages=100–101|trans-title=Pressed by Success|language=de|access-date=2022-01-04}}</ref>
== History ==
In 1961 Erich Utsch founded a company to produce license plates.<ref>{{Citation|last=Danhong|first=Zhang|title=Der Schilderkönig|date=2014-05-23|url=https://www.dw.com/de/der-schilderkönig/a-17651492|website=[[Deutsche Welle]]|trans-title=The King of Plates|language=de|access-date=2022-01-04}}</ref> He saw a business opportunity in the increasing motorization of the [[post-war period]]. During the very first years, Utsch used a converted [[Winepress|wine press]]; later, the company developed specialized presses.<ref name="HB">{{Citation|last=Müller|first=Anja|title=Von der Weinpresse zum Weltmarktführer|date=2014-07-30|url=https://www.handelsblatt.com/unternehmen/mittelstand/hidden_champions/utsch-ag-aus-siegen-von-der-weinpresse-zum-weltmarktfuehrer/10258682.html|newspaper=[[Handelsblatt]]|trans-title=From Wine Press to World Market Leader|language=de|access-date=2022-01-04}}</ref> After Utsch died in 1969, his son Manfred took over management. He invested in new technologies and gradually entered foreign markets. As of the 2015 [[fiscal year]], 80% of all revenues came from outside Germany.<ref>{{Citation|last=Webb|first=Alex|title=Germany's Export Engines|date=2015-04-01|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-03-31/german-license-plate-presses-sold-to-u-s-jail-show-export-clout|website=Markets Magazine|publisher=Bloomberg|access-date=2022-01-04}}</ref>
2001, Utsch changed its legal structure from [[Kommanditgesellschaft]] (KG) to [[Aktiengesellschaft]] (AG). Until 2016, the founder family retained a majority stake in the company. Then Manfred Utsch sold the company to Australian and Swedish investors.<ref name="FAZ">{{Citation|last=Siedenbiedel|first=Christian|title=Keiner produziert mehr Autokennzeichen als er.|date=2008-07-24|url=https://www.faz.net/aktuell/wirtschaft/unternehmen/schilderkoenig-manfred-utsch-keiner-produziert-mehr-autokennzeichen-als-er-1669548.html|newspaper=[[Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung]]|trans-title=No One Produces More License Plates Than He Does.|language=de|access-date=2022-01-04}}</ref><ref>{{Citation|last=Menzel|first=Stefan|title=Der König im Schilderwald|date=2001-10-17|newspaper=Handelsblatt|page=24|trans-title=The King in the Plate Forest|language=de}}</ref>
In 2020, Utsch merged with Hill Numberplates, a manufacturer with major activities in the United Kingdom and France and a presence in parts of Asia, and Africa. The merger resulted in the world's largest license plate group.<ref>{{Citation|title=Nummernschild-Größen gehen zusammen.|date=2020-02-20|url=https://www.siegener-zeitung.de/siegen/c-lokales/nummernschild-groessen-gehen-zusammen_a194182|newspaper=Siegener Zeitung|trans-title=License Plate Heavyweights Go Together.|language=de|access-date=2022-01-04}}</ref>
== Corporation ==
Utsch is a private German [[Stock Corporation|stock corporation]]. The Erich Utsch AG is the group's parent, with a dozen fully consolidated [[Subsidiary|subsidiaries]] in several countries, including France, Spain, and the United Kingdom. The LicenSys Australasia Pty. Ltd. is a semi-independent [[subgroup]] of Utsch, being responsible for the [[Asia-Pacific]] markets.<ref>{{Citation|title=Annual Report|date=2019-12-19|url=http://www.unternehmensregister.de/ureg/|website=Company Register|publisher=[[Bundesanzeiger]]|language=de, en|access-date=2022-01-04}}</ref>
== Products ==
The company's core business is the production of [[vehicle license plate]]s.<ref>{{Citation|title=Weltmarktführer und Bestleistungen der Industrie aus Südwestfalen.|date=February 2013|url=https://www.ihk-siegen.de/fileadmin/user_upload/Innovation/Weltmarktfuehrer_Broschuere_1_Auflage.pdf|page=100|trans-title=World Market Leaders and Top Industrial Performers From South Westphalia.|location=Arnsberg|publisher=Chamber of Commerce and Industry Siegen|language=de|access-date=2022-01-04}}</ref> Utsch supports various country-specific security features such as emblems, laser codes, [[watermarks]], or [[holograms]].<ref>{{Citation|title=Products|url=https://www.utsch.com/en/Products/|publisher=Utsch|access-date=2022-01-04}}</ref>
Besides the production of license plates, Utsch sells machines, tools, and other [[equipment]] for related [[Production (economics)|production]] and [[Distribution (marketing)|distribution]] processes.<ref name="HB" /> These include blocking and [[Counter-pressure brake|counter-pressure]] tools, embossing presses, hot stamping machines, laminators, and laser coding equipment.<ref>{{Citation|title=Systems|url=https://www.utsch.com/en/Systems/|publisher=Utsch|access-date=2022-01-04}}</ref>
Customers include governments from countries from around the world.<ref>{{Citation|title=Prägender Erfolg|date=2010-06-05|newspaper=Süddeutsche Zeitung|page=26|trans-title=Formative Success|language=de}}</ref> The government of Italy, for example, commissioned Utsch in 1998 to handle the conversion of license plates to new [[European Union|EU]] standards;<ref>{{Citation|title=Siegerländer Technik für Italien|date=1998-05-13|newspaper=Rhein-Zeitung|trans-title=Siegerland Technology for Italy|language=de}}</ref> the company supplied millions of official license plates in to  Egypt and Iraq in 2008.<ref>{{Citation|title=Erich Utsch: Kennzeichen für ganz Ägypten|date=2008-07-07|newspaper=[[Die Welt]]|pages=14|trans-title=Erich Utsch: License Plates for the Whole of Egypt|language=de}}</ref><ref>{{Citation|last=Pickshaus|first=Adrian|title=Kennzeichen D // Die Utsch AG aus Siegen exportiert Nummernschilder in alle Welt – jetzt auch in den Irak.|date=2009-07-19|newspaper=[[Der Tagesspiegel]]|page=23|trans-title=License Plate D // Utsch AG From Siegen Exports License Plates All Over the World – Now Also to Iraq.|language=de}}</ref>
== References ==
{{Reflist}}
== External links ==
* {{official website|utsch.com}}
[[Category:Companies established in 1961]]
[[Category:Manufacturing companies of Germany]]
[[Category:Siegen]]