"Successcomestothosewhoworkeveryday"

CEO Ernst Prost on thesuccessof LIQUI MOLY

March 2018 – yearbyyear, LIQUI MOLY reportsnewrecordsales. The German oiland additive specialistisdebt-freeandrecentlypaideveryemployee a bonusof 11,000 euros. Successseemstohavebecome a certainty. CEO Ernst Prost revealsthesecrettothissuccessthatisn'tactually a secret at all.

Since 2006, LIQUI MOLY hastripleditssales – anddone so in an industrythatisn'texactlyknownforits strong growth. Howdidthat happen?

Ernst Prost: Through hardwork. It'sthat simple. And also thathard. Thereisnoresting on ourlaurelsforus. Wewanttomarchonwards, not stand still. Weemploypeople, wedevelopnewproducts, wedevelopnewmarketsandweincreaseourproductionquantity. Wehavepracticedthisforyears. Ourgrowthisorganic. Noacquisitions, nodebt. Wearerunning all byourselves, underourownsteam. Wehave 120 millioneurosequitywith a balancesheet total of 160 millioneuros. Thatis an equityratioof 75 percent – wecanweatheranystorm.

Successthroughhardwork –thatsoundsveryold-fashioned.

Ernst Prost: Couldbe. Perhapshardworkhasactually fallen out offashionforoneortheother. Over mycareer I havelearnedthatsuccessdoesn'tcometolayabouts, whoputtheirfeetupandwaitforthingsto happen forthem. Successcomestothosewhowork like a horseeveryday, regardlessofwhetheryou'rerunning a company, visitingcustomersorworking in production. Ifevery individual employeebehaves in thisway, thensuccess will comebyitself.

And a bonusof 11,000 eurosincreasesmotivation.

Ernst Prost: Yes, ofcourse. The company'ssuccessisthesuccessofeach individual colleague. Thereforeitisonly fair thateach individual shouldshare in theirsuccess. And do so bythe same amount. Ofcourse, the 11,000 eurosmakemoreof a differencetomycolleagues in productionthanthose in management. Forthecolleaguesthatwork at oursubsidiary in South Africa in a warehousethisrepresentsuptotwoannualsalaries. Even ourtraineesandtempsget a bonusof 3,300 euros.

Temps?

Ernst Prost: In additiontothe 835 permanent employees, wealwaysemployaround 20 to 30 temps in ordertoabsorbproductionpeaksandfill in forcolleagueswithlong-term illnesses. Theyreceive an hourly wage ofbetween 11 eurosand 15.41 euros. But thisisonlyever a stop-gap. Ifweneedthesupportof a temppermanently, weemploythemourselves. Wewouldbepretty stupid ifwedidn't hold on totrainedpeoplethatweneeded. Over thepastthreeyearswehavepermanentlyemployed 27 temps, so almostone in three.

A strong togetherness, a bigbonus, continuousgrowth – thatalmostsounds like heaven on earth.

Ernst Prost: That'stakingit a bitfar. A self-builtparadise. Itisveryfulfillingifyoucanidentifyyourselfwithyourtask. But ourlittleparadisecanonlyexist so longaswearecommerciallysuccessful. The moneyforourbonusdidn'tcomefromnowhere, but hadtobeearnedbeforehand. Just like thealmost 10 millioneurosforinvestment, thearound 5 millioneurosforresearchandproductdevelopmentandthe 20 millioneurosformarketingandadvertising. The suppliesweneedforourproductionaloneareworth 43 millioneuros. This is all moneythatweearnedbeforehand.

Are you not worriedthatothercompanies will copyyourrecipeforsuccess?

Ernst Prost: But thatwouldbenice. I wouldbepleasedif all companiespaidtheiremployeescomfortablesalariesandthebonusesthattheydeserve.

And do you not haveanyworriesforthefuture? Such asrisingoilprices, Brexit, growingconflicts in many countries?

Ernst Prost: Youknow, uncertaintyis a partofdoingbusiness. Itis not somethingtobefeared, but somethingtobemanaged. Ifrisksrisesomewhere, thenopportunitiesrisesomewhereelse. Youcan't just blindlychaseeveryeuro. I'drather miss out on a salefromwhich I don'tearnanything. That'swhywehavepracticallynopaymentdefaults. That's not onlygoodforus, but also foroursuppliersandcustomers. Theyknowthat, in us, theyhave a reliableandstablepartner on theirside, thatdoesn'twaver, evenwhenthe wind isblowing in theirface.

In Januaryyousoldyour LIQUI MOLY sharestothe Würth Group, but continue on as CEO.

Ernst Prost: The saleto Würth was an importantsteptosecuringthelong-term futureof LIQUI MOLY, beyondmyown time. However, thisonlymeans a changeofownerbehindthescenes. LIQUI MOLY continuestoremainindependent, I continuetodecidethefateofthecompanyandwecontinuetomaintainoursuccessfulsalesmodel via wholesalers. Everythingisstayingasitis – onlymoresecure.

LIQUI MOLY in figures / 2017
Sales / 532 m euros
Revenue before tax / 52 m euros
Balance sheet total / 160 m euros
Equity / 120 m euros
Bank debt / 0 euros
Lubricant production / 81,495 t
Additive production / 16.7 m cans
Inventory levels / 42.8 m euros
Employees / 824
Investment in fixed assets / 9.7 m euros
Spending on marketing and advertising / 19.8 m euros
Spending on research and development / 5.3 m euros

About LIQUI MOLY

With around 4,000 items, LIQUI MOLY offers a global, uniquely broad range of automotive chemicals: Motor oils and additives, greases and pastes, sprays and car care, glues and sealants. Founded in 1957, LIQUI MOLY develops and produces exclusively in Germany. There it is the undisputed market leader for additives and is repeatedly voted the best oil brand. The company led by Ernst Prost sells its products in more than 120 countries and generated 532m euros in sales in 2017.

For more information, please contact:

LIQUI MOLY GmbH

Peter Szarafinski

Jerg-Wieland-Str. 4

89081 Ulm-Lehr

Germany

Tel.: +49 7 31/14 20 189

Fax: +49 7 31/14 20 82