Oerlikon sells non-operating property in Mönchengladbach
Pfäffikon SZ (Switzerland), Mönchengladbach (Germany), January 30, 2013 – The Swiss technology group Oerlikon has sold a 140 000-square-meter industrial park (Schlafhorst Businesspark) in Mönchengladbach, Germany, to the neighboring company SMS Meer. An agreement was signed yesterday. The sale price is in a low double-digit million Euro range. “The divestment of the industrial park is the next step in the systematic execution of our strategy to divest non-operating assets,” said Oerlikon’s CEO, Michael Buscher.
Oerlikon began consolidating the Textile Segment’s production sites in Germany two years ago. As part of this effort, Oerlikon moved the production of rotor spinning machines from Mönchengladbach to the headquarters of its Natural Fibers Business Unit in Übach-Palenberg, Germany. The process was completed last year, leaving Oerlikon Schlafhorst with only a few administrative employees and a technical center at Schlafhorst Businesspark.
"Schlafhorst Businesspark is an ideal location for SMS Meer,” said the CEO of SMS Meer, Dr. Joachim Schoenbeck “It creates a number of opportunities for the expansion of our location.” SMS Meer intends to continue applying the concept of the industrial park, which currently has 14 tenants occupying 110 000 square meters of office and production space.
