by Barrett Baker
When looking at the Busch Vacuum Solutions logo, one might assume that the stacked “U”s it represent the vacuum pumps and systems the company builds at their American headquarters in Virginia Beach. However, they actually symbolize sausages, since the first vacuum pump built by the company’s founders was created for a meat packing facility and the letters are slightly offset to represent movement, such as on a packaging plant conveyor line.
The Busch Group Backstory
The Busch Group was founded in Maulburg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany in 1963 by Dr. Karl Busch and his wife, Ayhan. Their global headquarters is still in Maulburg, but when the Busch family decided to expand beyond Germany, in 1975, they established a sales organization in Virginia Beach. In 1979, they started building their products here in Coastal Virginia and have since become one of the world’s largest manufacturers of vacuum pumps, vacuum systems, blowers, compressors, and gas abatement systems. The company has more than 8,000 employees in 47 countries worldwide—including China, the Czech Republic, France, Romania, South Korea, Switzerland, and Vietnam. Their annual consolidated revenue exceeds two billion Euros (roughly $2.4 billion). They currently have more than 300 employees at their Virginia Beach facility and more than 1,200 employees across the U.S.
While the company’s “bread and butter” remains building vacuum pumps for the food industry, their products and services have expanded to include vacuum, overpressure, and abatement products in a wide variety of industries, including centralized vacuum systems in hospitals and large sewage pumps for municipalities. After recently acquiring Pfeiffer Vacuum+Fab Solutions in Nahua, New Hampshire, they’ve expanded into providing solutions for the semiconductor space: chips for computers, cell phones, and more. All this and the capacity to provide clients with more solutions for mid-to-large-size vacuum applications.
“It seems like every day I discover a new application where our vacuum systems are making an impact,” says Jake Young, marketing business partner for Busch Group USA. “Beyond manufacturing vacuum pumps, blowers, compressors, and supporting industries like semiconductor and plastics molding, we’re expanding further into service-based solutions. We’re now able to remotely monitor systems at customer facilities—tracking operating temperature, vacuum pressure, vibration levels, and other key performance indicators. If anything moves outside normal parameters, the system sends an automatic alert to the maintenance manager, enabling faster response and greater reliability.”
While monitoring client vacuum systems, the data that is generated from those observations also helps to predict service intervals and other needs that can be tweaked based on that feedback.
Ports, Highways, and Regional Talent
When Dr. and Mrs. Busch came to the United States to establish an American headquarters, they could have gone anywhere. However, for a company that relies on worldwide imports and exports, having a port that is operational year-round and a highway infrastructure to move product inland was a major plus for settling in Coastal Virginia. They also were impressed with the amount of talent the region had from military personnel that were retiring or transitioning back into civilian life. The area’s educational institutions were also a highly attractive source of workforce development. Plus, having the beachfront resort nearby (and we’re told that golf courses were a big factor) is a great incentive to attracting workers to come and stay here.
Playing the Long Game
In order to train and retain workers, Busch Group also offers an apprenticeship program that includes opportunities for CNC Mechanics, maintenance mechanics, and mechatronics designers. Just last year, they became a Registered Apprentice Partner with ECPI and ATI. They also have a close tie with local schools and offer an internship program that began in the early 2000s. They retain approximately 28 percent of their interns as full-time employees and their internship program has been awarded the Top Virginia Employer for Interns three years running.
Their employment strategy proves successful. They have a few individuals who have been with the company for more than 40 years, and they recently had more than 100 of their people hit the 20-year anniversary mark. According to Young, one of the things that contributes to that longevity is not only how well the company treats their employees, but also the fact that they are always looking to ensure stability and growth.
“As an organization, the family always thinks ahead long term, not just ‘What’s the next quarter going to be?” says Young. “We always try to put our employees first, make sure they are cared for, and ensure that we’re always thinking long term.”
