By James Wells

MELBOURNE: BSH Australia and New Zealand managing director, Paul Ravlich, informed his staff this afternoon that he will be resigning on 31 July after 17 years with the company.

Ravlich will return to New Zealand for personal reasons and will be replaced by another managing director within the global BSH Group.

Ravlich told current.com.au he will travel to Germany next week to finalise arrangements with the new managing director and make a formal announcement the following week.

Ravlich will remain with the company during the transition, with a handover effective from Monday 31 July.

“After 17 years, it was not an easy decision to leave,” Ravlich told current.com.au this afternoon.

“I will remain with the company and assist with the transition until 31 July.”

Current.com.au understands former BSH marketing manager, Nick Ruffell, will return to the company as business development manager.

Ravlich established the New Zealand division of Bosch Household Appliances in 1989, after taking over the business from an agent which was generating import turnover of $200,000. The business is now turning over in excess of $20 million.

Ravlich became managing director of Bosch Household Appliances in January 2002, following the departure of Erich Duerr.

Ravlich later established the BSH office in 1 January 2005 and over the following 12 months recorded a sales increase of 33 per cent on the previous calendar year.

To accommodate the Siemens brand of home appliances into Australia, Bosch Household Appliances separated from its parent company, Robert Bosch on 1 January, 2005, to establish BSH – Bosch und Siemens Hausgerate GmbH  or Bosch and Siemens Home Appliances.

In the 2005 calendar year, BSH Appliances improved sales turnover by 33 per cent.

BSH is a 50/50 joint venture between the German companies Robert Bosch GmbH and Siemens AG. It sells Bosch and Siemens branded products in Australia and Bosch and Gaggenau products in New Zealand.

The two companies first formed a joint venture in 1967, aligning Bosch’s expertise in refrigeration with Siemens’ skills in washing and cooking.