The Baust Group sets the course for the next generation

Langenfeld, December 2025 – There are moments in the life of an entrepreneur that are greater than figures, balance sheets, or market shares. For Franz Baust, who has shaped the fortunes of the Baust Group for over three decades, that moment has now come. After 35 years with the company, 30 of them as managing director, he is handing over the reins of the family business to new hands. Not to family members, but to two entrepreneurs who share Baust’s values: Felix Lütkebomk and Daniel Morent.

What at first glance sounds like a classic succession plan is in fact an example of responsibility in action: towards employees, customers, and the location.

Baust is representative of many German SMEs that face the same question: How can a company remain independent, innovative, and people-oriented when the family has no desire to take over?

A family business reinvents itself without losing its soul

Over the past few decades, the Baust Group has developed into a hidden champion of intralogistics.

Its pallet changers are now considered the benchmark in the pharmaceutical and food industries: wherever hygiene, precision, and reliability are crucial. This specialization was no coincidence, but the result of clear decisions. Franz Baust has continuously renewed the company, driven technical innovations, and shaped the business into a stable, independent medium-sized company.

But at some point, the question of the future arose. “There was no one in the family who wanted to take over,” says Baust openly. “It was important to me that the company not be sold, but rather continue to be run responsibly—with people who understand what Baust is all about.”

The perfect match: two entrepreneurs with a passion for technology sharing the drive of a small and medium-sized business

After a selection process lasting several years, Felix Lütkebomk and Daniel Morent were chosen as two individuals whose experience complements each other perfectly.

Lütkebomk, an engineer and digitalization expert, stands for technological depth, systems thinking, and a forward-looking approach. Morent brings decades of experience in sales, market development, and customer relations in intralogistics to the table. “What connects us is respect for what has been created here—and the will to develop it further,” says Lütkebomk. As part of a management buy-in (MBI), the two entrepreneurs will take over responsibility on January 1, 2026, through the newly founded Baust Pallet Handling GmbH. Felix Lütkebomk will take on the role of managing director, while Daniel Morent will build up the business development and strategic sales division.

Franz Baust will remain with the company, initially in an operational capacity and later in an advisory role, as a bridge between the past and the future.

A new chapter: Digital, human, independent

The vision of the new owners is clear: Baust will remain what it is: an independent, value-oriented medium-sized company with a focus on technology, quality, and reliability.

But at the same time, a new phase is beginning:

• Digitalization and AI are set to further strengthen Baust’s products and processes in the future.
• Profitability and stability continue to take precedence over rapid growth and
• long-term independence remains the declared goal.

“We don’t want to change Baust, we want to develop it,” explains Morent. “The company’s DNA: technical excellence, trustworthiness, and partnership-based relationships are our foundation. That’s what we build on.”

More than just a business transfer – a signal for small and medium-sized enterprises

At a time when many medium-sized companies are being sold to investors or broken up, this step is a counter-model:

a successful family business remains privately owned, independent, and regionally rooted—but with a fresh entrepreneurial spirit.

For Franz Baust, this is more than just a conclusion: “I am grateful that we have found a solution that is fair to the company, the employees, and the region. It feels good to let go—when you know that the future is in good hands.”

Background: Baust Group

The Baust Group, based in Langenfeld, is a leading supplier of pallet changers and pallet handling solutions for the pharmaceutical, food, and logistics industries. The company employs around 25 people and has established itself as a technological market leader with a high degree of specialization.

Baust Stanztechnologie GmbH, previously part of the group, will remain under the management of Franz Baust for the time being and will continue to operate independently and separately from the MBI in the field of rotary punching technologies.