Juice Technology AG, producer of electric charging stations and software and the market leader in portable charging stations for electric vehicles, is beefing up its business ventures in Europe by founding the subsidiary Juice Iberia S.L. headquartered in Málaga, Spain.
The Technology Park of Andalusia in Málaga is home to over 600 tech companies, including such international firms as Dekra, Google, Oracle, IBM and Siemens. This environment proved decisive in selecting this location for the headquarters of the new subsidiary, Juice Iberia.
Building on a strong presence in Central Europe, Swiss producer of electric charging infrastructure Juice is now extending its geographical range to the Iberian Peninsula, underscoring the importance of the Spanish and Portuguese markets. The Spanish government is promoting electromobility as part of an economic stimulus plan, targeting a quarter of a million all-electric vehicles on the road by 2023, and five million by 2030, so the time is ripe for Juice to enter the market in this region.
It was clear right from the start that this step would come, sooner or later. With the company pursuing long-term objectives, the perfect point in time for the move needed to be well-considered. With a client base already established in Spain and Portugal, the focus now will turn more closely to strategic business interests.
Christoph Erni, CEO and founder of Juice Technology AG, puts it this way: “Public policy-making and the economy are now pointing in the right direction. With this first-stage target of 250,000 electric vehicles by 2023, Spain has set an ambitious goal for itself. Achieving this aim in reality means that charging infrastructure will be needed beyond the large metropolitan areas as well, particularly in residential areas and places of work.”
Currently there are only 8,400 public charging points in all of Spain, with most of them located in large urban regions. Power providers, retail chains and joint ventures by petrochemical firms and automotive manufacturers are all pitching in to meet the envisaged expansion to 100,000 charging points by 2023.
“The general enabling conditions conducive to rapid development of electromobility in Spain are favourable. The country has efficient telecommunications infrastructure and effective transport infrastructure. What’s more, the general public are openly welcoming to digitalisation and innovation,” says Manuel Balzer, Managing Director of Juice Iberia.
Balzer is currently putting his team in Spain together. A proven sales management and marketing leader with experience gained from the recruiting platform Indeed and IT giants Dell and Microsoft, Balzer discovered his love for electromobility with the Spanish manufacturer Wallbox Chargers, where he was most recently active as country manager. Balzer’s profound knowledge of the country, its culture, language and business customs qualify him well to lead this expansion throughout the Iberian Peninsula.
Juice Technology AG enjoys worldwide presence at multiple locations with its own branch offices, subsidiaries and partner companies, and also has a global network of resellers at its disposal. The company’s in-house workforce meanwhile numbers 170 employees active in development, production, marketing, sales and logistics. The Juice Group is now expanding to include Juice Iberia S.L.
Juice Iberia – facts and figures
- Countries: Juice Technology has founded Juice Iberia S.L. as a subsidiary to serve Spain and Portugal.
- Offices: Juice Iberia S.L. is starting with a team of four based in Málaga’s Andalusia Technology Park, a technological hotspot housing such multinational giants as Oracle, IBM and Siemens.
- Management: As Managing Director Iberia, Manuel Balzer is responsible for establishing the team in Málaga and driving the expansion of Juice’s business in Spain and Portugal.
- Products: With a portfolio offering the entire product range from Juice, initial focus will be on the portable wallbox JUICE BOOSTER 2 that is marketed worldwide. This versatile charging station allows electric cars to charge from any conventional household or industrial socket outlet anywhere in the world. The charger is equipped for automatic detection of socket input current, is waterproof and dustproof (to protection rating IP 67), and driveover-resistant to wheel loads of up to three tonnes.
JUICE BOOSTER 2 is the world’s first portable charging station in the 22 kW class to have been tested by TÜV SÜD for compliance with IEC 62752 Ed. 1 2016 including AMD1 2018.
SOURCE: Juice Technology
