Expansion of manmade fibers business
Pfäffikon, Schwyz, Switzerland – April 18, 2016 – Oerlikon announced today that it has signed an agreement to acquire the entire staple fibers technology portfolio of Trützschler Nonwovens & Man-Made Fibers GmbH, Egelsbach, Germany. This company is part of the German Truetzschler Group, which is a specialist in fiber preparation for the yarn spinning and nonwovens industries. The acquisition expands the Manmade Fibers Segment’s technology portfolio and opens up access to new customers in the market for synthetic staple fibers.
Oerlikon is strengthening its technology and market position in its core business areas by taking advantage of the ongoing consolidation in the chemical fibers market, which was triggered by the market downturn in China. With the acquisition of the former Fleissner staple fibers technology portfolio and the intellectual property (IP) of Trützschler Nonwovens & Man-Made Fibers GmbH, the Segment becomes the leading technology and equipment provider in the global staple fibers market. The acquisition expands the Manmade Fibers Segment’s staple fibers technology expertise and broadens the Segment’s customer base and service business in the respective areas. As staple fibers projects are increasingly tied to continuous polycondensation facilities, already now the Manmade Fibers Segment is well positioned to operate as a provider of complete solutions. Both parties have agreed not to disclose details of the transaction. Truetzschler Group is discontinuing its staple fiber business as it has decided to focus on its core business activities.
Dr. Roland Fischer, CEO of the Oerlikon Group, said: “The acquisition of the staple fibers technology portfolio of Truetzschler is another important step in line with our strategy to strengthen our position outside the filament business, where we occupy a leading technology and market position. The ongoing consolidation in the chemical fibers market presents interesting opportunities and we are taking this step to ensure that the Manmade Fibers Segment will merge stronger from the current market weakness and profit from the positive long-term market perspectives.”
Staple fibers technology is one of the core technologies within the manmade fibers industry. In 2015, the produced staple fibers amounted to 18.5 million tons, or some 33 % of the total synthetic fibers capacity. Synthetic staple fibers are produced by the main conversion steps: polymer production, spinning further down to baling. The liquid polymer is either produced in a polycondensation plant or polymer chips are melted in an extrusion line. Staple fibers are made from different polymers, including: polyester, polypropylene, polyamide, recycled materials (rPET) or renewable polymers (such as polylactic acid, PLA). Those fibers are used in various applications such as apparels, nonwoven fabric production, reinforcement, filling, insulation and further special applications.
Georg Stausberg, CEO of Oerlikon’s Manmade Fibers Segment commented: “The former Fleissner staple fibers technology portfolio of Trützschler Nonwovens & Man-Made Fibers GmbH is an ideal fit for our business. It enhances our existing technology offering and broadens our service business. Furthermore, it opens up attractive business opportunities with key customers in that field. Combining the staple fibers process solutions and key components of both companies will enable us to increase customer value through developing further innovations. In addition, we will be able to offer the entire range of customer services for all installed machines and plants of the former Fleissner staple fibers technologies.”
About Oerlikon
Oerlikon (SIX: OERL) is a leading global technology Group, with a clear strategy of becoming a global powerhouse in surface solutions, advanced materials and materials processing. The Group is committed to investing in value-bringing technologies that provide customers with lighter, more durable materials that are able to increase performance, improve efficiency and reduce the use of scarce resources. A Swiss company with over 100 years of tradition, Oerlikon has a global footprint of over 13 500 employees at more than 170 locations in 37 countries and sales of CHF 2.7 billion in 2015. The company invested CHF 103 million in R&D in 2015 and has over 1 350 specialists developing innovative and customer-oriented products and services.
About Truetzschler
With about 3 000 employees, Truetzschler is one of the world's leading textile machinery manufacturer. Truetzschler specialises in machines, installations and accessories for spinning preparation, the nonwovens and man-made fibers industry. The headquarter of the more than 125 year old company is located in Mönchengladbach, Germany. The subsidiaries Trützschler Nonwovens and Man-Made Fibers GmbH with two production sites, and Trützschler Card Clothing GmbH, are also located in Germany. Sites in India, China, Brazil, USA and Switzerland, as well as a number of service centres, provide customer proximity in the important textile processing areas.
The Truetzschler Nonwovens & Man-Made Fibers companies supply nonwoven machinery from bale opening to winding including all web bonding technologies. The man-made fiber product range comprises spinning plants for carpet (BCF) and industrial yarns.
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