Oerlikon divests two major BUs to Jingsheng
The 160 years of Saurer history is getting further extended. The Oerlikon Group, which acquired Saurer in 2007, has signed an agreement with the Jinsheng Group of China to divest the Natural Fibers and Textile Components business units (BUs) from its Textile Segment. The divestment is an important strategic step to optimize and balance Oerlikon’s portfolio by significantly reducing the group’s overall exposure to the textile industry.
Oerlikon’s Textile Segment will focus on the man-made fiber business, a high-performing segment with less cyclicality. The transaction is based on an enterprise value of around CHF 650 million and is expected to close in Q3 2013.
Oerlikon CEO Michael Buscher said: “This transaction is a further milestone in balancing the Oerlikon portfolio. It significantly reduces our overall exposure to the textile industry and allows us to focus on the less cyclical, higher margin man-made fibers business, which will deliver sustainable benefit to our shareholders, customers and employees.”
The new Saurer Group will generate sales of CHF 1 billion with 3,800 employees. All employees and production sites in Europe, the US and Asia will be taken over. Continuity with focus on value for customers, innovation and employee development are the main focus of the new leadership team acting out of Europe and Asia.
The Board of Directors of the new Saurer Group will be composed of four European and three Asian members: Heinrich Fischer, Chairman (until 2007 CEO of Saurer, Chairman of Orell Füssli, Board member at Hilti), Hans-Georg Härter (until 2012 CEO of ZF), Rudolf Huber (until 2005 CEO of Geberit, Board member at Georg Fischer, Chairman of Looser), Guido Spix (CTO Multivac), Pan Xueping (main investor and founder of the Jinsheng Group) and Jesse Guan (Head of CNC Machines Jinsheng Group).
The operations will be led by the current management team of the OC Oerlikon Natural Fibre and Components business. Daniel Lippuner, former CEO of the Component business, will be appointed as CEO of the new Saurer Group. Prior to his six-year experience at OC Oerlikon he worked eight years in different management positions at Hilti.
Mr. Daniel Lippuner says: “It’s like home-coming for most employees. We are very happy with this decision. Thanks to the strategic investment and giving us the opportunity to manage, we will have continuity in what we do”.
The new entity will have the following brands: Zinser for spinning, Jinsheng for spinning preparation, Schlafhorst for rotor spinning and winding, Volkmann for twisting and cabling, Saurer for shuttle embroidery and the Indian JV with Peass for cone-to-cone winding plus the Oerlikon Textile Components which consists of Accotex, Texparts, Daytex, Heberlein, Temco and Fibervision.
The divestment of the Natural Fibers and Textile Components BUs considerably reduces Oerlikon Group’s exposure to the global textile business, whilst retaining and building on its position as a world leader in the man-made fibers segment. With sales of CHF 2 billion in 2011, the Textile Segment represented 53 per cent of total restated group sales (excluding the recently divested Solar business). The business units being sold accounted for sales of CHF 1.1 billion in 2011 and employ around 3,800 persons. After the divestment, the restated share of revenues from the textile sector will be around 33 per cent of total group sales.
Oerlikon’s Manmade Fibers Business Unit, with its brands Oerlikon Barmag and Oerlikon Neumag, is the worldwide leading supplier for innovative solutions for chemical fiber production that meets requirements for productivity, quality and lower conversion costs. In addition to filaments and staples solutions it also offers solutions for nonwoven and BCF carpet yarn technology. Its technological leadership and strong market position have resulted in an exceptionally strong order book which already contains orders for equipment delivery in 2015.
Jinsheng Group
The Jinsheng Group has invested in four independent areas: CNC machines with a 50 per cent investment in the German EMAG Group which they support in building up their Asian business, cotton spinning and recycling, real estate and diagnosis tests for HIV, alcohol and drugs. Through organic growth and selective acquisitions, sales increased during the last 12 years to CHF 1 billion with 5,000 employees as of now.
The Jinsheng Group has been a long-term business partner of Saurer and OC Oerlikon and has an in-depth knowledge of the textile industry.
The aim is to open a new successful chapter in the history of Saurer, to further strengthen with a long-term sustainable strategy its position as a leading textile machinery manufacturer and to satisfy the customer with first-class service and innovative products.
The Jiangsu Jinsheng Group, established in 2000 in the Jintan Economic Development Zone of Jiangsu Province, is now a leading manufacturer of high-end CNC machines & tools, regenerated cotton fiber as well as saliva-based test technologies. It includes four business units, namely, high-end machine & tools, regenerated cotton fiber, real estate and saliva-based test.