Switchgear at the Mangelberger plant with a technician at the distribution wall

Switchgear manufacturing for chain stores, retail and quick service restaurants

At Mangelberger we manufacture electrical distribution boards for companies with many locations – from retail and fashion to food service. Why are we so successful at it? Because our customers love the irresistible combination of standardisation and simplification.

Our solutions make sure that tills, kitchen appliances, refrigerated units, lighting systems, ventilation, heat pumps and charging points are powered efficiently and reliably, and run virtually maintenance-free: usable worldwide and tailored to the needs of individual store concepts.

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Technician assembling a frame with a standardised electrical distribution board

Reduced capital and operating costs

Our switchgear is individualised as far as possible and standardised as far as possible at the same time. We call that reduction to the optimum. The effect: performance and payback … instead of complexity.

We deliberately avoid technology that is hard to operate and match the switchgear to your operational requirements and to the technical understanding of your store staff and local contractors. That saves capital and operating costs … because the units can be installed quickly and easily. And because your staff can operate them safely and on their own.

Switchgear – from Roth out into the world

Around 2,000 units leave our plant in Roth near Nuremberg every year: delivered to 44 countries so far, where we have equipped more than 20,000 stores with our control panels and switchgear to date.

Every unit follows a standard and is still individual: based on a standardised plug-in concept, you decide yourself which functions you integrate and when.

Switchgear production at the Roth plant near Nuremberg: two technicians wiring a control panel

Our key facts

Founded: 1994 in Roth near Nuremberg

Units per year: around 2,000

Countries supplied: 44

Stores equipped: 20,000+, approx. 600 per year

Degree of automation in production: over 80 percent

Robots in operation: 8, since 2014

Terminal blocks and wired plug-in modules inside the control panel

Plug-ins for smart control

From the simplest technology with time switches through to the fully automated store: you decide which level of equipment our control panel comes with. We call our variable equipment options plug-ins, because they can be plugged in, retrofitted at any time and of course removed and reused again.

Control panel with analytics for energy management and load management

Store control / energy management

Consistent control of the electrical loads in your store, from kitchen appliances through refrigeration, air conditioning, ventilation and heat pumps to lighting, energy storage and charging points

Quick service restaurant kitchen line supplied by a Mangelberger distribution board

Smart metering

Certified consumption metering in line with DIN ISO 50001

Branch of an international retail chain fitted with electrical distribution for chain stores

Lighting control

Simple switching, DALI, DMX and phase control

Refrigerated retail aisles supplied by a Mangelberger distribution board

HACCP

Monitoring of refrigeration and kitchen equipment for seamless documentation

Electrical planning for stores on screen in the meeting room

BMS

Building management technology for heating, ventilation and air conditioning

Row of cabinets behind the glass front: power supply for data centres

E-mobility supply & control

Power supply and control for charging infrastructure

Research and development at Mangelberger: robotics and automation

Generator control

Control and monitoring of generators

Robot populating the mounting rails of a switchgear assembly in production

Section 14a EnWG

Implementation of the German requirements for controllable consumption devices

Get in touch!

Do you have questions or would you like a no-obligation first conversation? We look forward to talking with you.

Send an enquiry

Two technicians retrofitting automation into existing control panels

Flexible automation

For existing stores we offer our add-on, which bundles a selection of plug-ins matched to your store while still leaving you every freedom.

When and how you automate a location? That is entirely your decision. Leaving a location? Simply unplug the plug-ins and plug them back into our control panel at your next store. Or return them to us. There is no need to invest twice.

Your operation? Running.

During operation we use consumption and performance data to spot when a device starts behaving unusually. And we do so before it fails. That way we can tell you about excessive running times, reduced heating performance in your cooking equipment, a drop in performance of a refrigeration unit or other faults.

Find out more about our support during ongoing operation.

Open electrical distribution board in daylight, technician checking the plug-in modules

Individual – for every sector

We take your electrical standard to the next level. There is no minimum order quantity. We give your single store the same structure and technical transparency as a rollout across hundreds of locations.

What does differ? The requirements of the sector …

Chain stores

Standardised electrical distribution boards for rollouts in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and worldwide, from planning to commissioning.

Quick service restaurants

Kitchen, till and refrigeration technology as well as ventilation, lighting and signage individually protected, kitchen start-up and HACCP monitoring included, operation reduced to a sensible minimum. Light control available as an option

Retail

Lighting, ovens, refrigeration, tills and all other loads in a single distribution board, designed for trouble-free store openings and low-maintenance operation.

Data centres

Transparent power supply and UPS connection for server environments and IT racks.

Switchgear – day and night

In 2014 we became the first company in Europe to introduce robot-supported assembly of switchgear. Today 40 automated supply units hold over 1,000 components in stock, and eight robots configure and assemble every unit and label it by laser.

Our vertical range of manufacture reaches from injection moulding of our own cable routing systems through electronic components and automatically assembled cable harnesses to CO2-optimised special parts made from recycled raw materials. Every batch is documented precisely in our own databases and in the circuit diagram.

Night factory

Production also runs when nobody is on the shop floor: at night, at weekends and on public holidays.

Batch size 1

We manufacture every unit individually, based on a layout matched to your needs, with no minimum quantity.

FastTrac

For framework contract customers we produce rush orders within 24 hours of drawing approval, on dedicated production stations so that running production is not interrupted.

Get in touch!

Do you have questions or would you like a no-obligation first conversation?
We look forward to talking with you.

Send an enquiry

Full of energy for the future

We have far more up our sleeve … than “just” building the right control panel: on request we also optimise our customers’ energy demand and peak load, we advise on store planning, and with our innovative approaches we are repeatedly part of national and international research projects.

Energy management

Load management, monitoring and the question of what can actually be saved with it. Including a targeted route to ISO 50001 in line with the German BAFA funding guidelines.

Electrical planning

Planning matched to your store, starting from the distribution board with the resulting circuit numbers and details for kitchen, refrigeration, tills and lighting, for example. It makes sense from the ground up – and makes the electrician on site happy.

Research and development

Projects with universities and scientific organisations, from humanoid robots through electric mobility to AI in manufacturing.

Wired terminal blocks inside a standardised Mangelberger distribution board

Our references

For more than four decades we have been equipping companies with economical, easy-to-operate electrical distribution boards. We have worked successfully for years with globally active restaurant chains such as KFC, Burger King and L’Osteria. The golden arches of McDonald’s have been on our list of trusted partnerships since 1985.

For many other international chain operators in the food and retail sectors we manufacture standardised switchgear that saves up to 12 percent energy on average.

At various European food discounters our combination of standard distribution board, store control, energy management, smart metering and HACCP monitoring has become the standard in all new stores.

We are certified to DIN EN 61439, ISO 9001, ISO 50001, DIN ISO 14001 and DIN ISO 26000 as well as by BAFA.

Frequently asked questions about switchgear

What does an individualised distribution board cost?

That depends on the type and size of the store and on the plug-ins you choose. Because we manufacture in an automated process to a standardised layout, our units are usually far more economical than a freely planned one-off. Do you only have one oven and no deposit return system in a particular store? Then we save on the protective devices too – and on the associated costs.

From how many stores onwards is standardising the switchgear worthwhile?

From the very first one! A structure thought through early saves unnecessary installation work, simplifies interfaces, reduces the need for specialist knowledge, shortens the installation effort on site and cuts costs considerably.

How quickly can switchgear be delivered?

For framework contract customers using FastTrac, Mangelberger produces within 24 hours of the order and drawing approval, for example when a construction schedule shifts.

Can functions be retrofitted in a switchgear unit?

With us, yes. Our plug-ins can be plugged in later, functions can be enabled remotely, and if required they can be taken along to another store. A good system is built for exactly that: flexible extensions and smart adjustments that grow with a company and its stores.

Can identical switchgear be installed in different countries?

In many cases, yes. So far we have delivered to 44 countries. The experience from those projects feeds continuously into our international planning. Every country has its own particularities and legislation. We certify the standard distribution board to the standards of the country in question and, on request, support the local planner with the design of the electrical installation or brief the local contractor.

How do I find my contact person at Mangelberger?

Our AI-based database system reviews your requirement and works out which of our project managers knows your type of project and your countries best and is currently available. You do not end up in a queue, but go straight to the right person. So … just get in touch!

Who builds the best switchgear for stores?

Good question! Why not ask our customers.

We are right here!

Are you planning a rollout, a refit of an existing store or your first location? Write to us and tell us what it is about. We will come back to you with an assessment and a proposal for the first step.

Or build a career?

Would you rather work with us than order from us? Then take a look at our open positions.