One of Munich’s and Germany’s better known industrial companies, the Krauss Maffei Group (injection molding machinery, automation, reaction process machinery – not to be mistaken with Krauss-Maffei Wegmann GmbH & Co. KG, a German defence company also headquartered in Munich) is set to be sold to a Chinese company. Not any Chinese company, but the county’s largest chemicals group, ChemChina, the same company that recently bought the Pirelli tire company. “Life Needs Chemicals” is the fantastic slogan of the company.
“With ChemChina, we have found a strategic and long-term oriented investor who has been interested in our Company for many years,” said Frank Stieler, CEO of the KraussMaffei Group. The KraussMaffei Group will continue to operate in its current corporate structure.
“We are strengthening our company with one of the leading global engineering groups, encompassing a 178-year corporate history. In doing so, we expect that KraussMaffei Group will maintain its identity and independence,” said Jianxin Ren, Chairman of ChemChina. “We are investing in the Company’s strong management team and its technological expertise, which we believe will benefit our Chinese subsidiaries and position the chemical machinery business of ChemChina, which build and sell equipment for the rubber and chemical industry, to become a pioneer in achieving the “Made in China 2025” program which aims to enhance Chinese industry. The growth potential of the KraussMaffei Group is tremendous, especially through improved access to the Chinese market, which we can make possible. We expect trends in the automotive industry towards advanced manufacturing and lightweight components will provide a huge development opportunity for the high-end plastic injection molding industry. Together, ChemChina and the KraussMaffei Group will be well positioned for future growth,” added Jianxin Ren.
“Accelerated growth will have a sustained positive impact for the Company globally. Our Company has a strong foundation and we will continue to build on our strengths, and create new jobs around the world,” said Stieler. Our brands KraussMaffei, KraussMaffei Berstorff and Netstal will always stand for highest quality and sustainability. The KraussMaffei Group’s headquarters will remain in Munich and the operating and corporate responsibility for the Company will stay in Europe. This applies in particular to production, technology, patents as well as research and development. The KraussMaffei Group will continue to operate as a German company with a Supervisory Board based on co-determination. All existing collective agreements and location-based commitments will remain unchanged. At present, the Company has approximately 4,500 employees globally, of which 2,800 are based in Germany. The Company intends to increase its workforce in 2016, including in Germany. Works council and the IG Metall union welcome the change in ownership.
ChemChina is China’s largest chemicals group, having generated revenues of around €37 billion in 2015 with approximately 140,000 employees, of whom 45,000 are located outside China. The group operates internationally and has a global expansion strategy, having acquired or invested in companies in Italy, France, Norway, the UK and Singapore in the last few years with the most recent acquisition being the high-end tire manufacturer Pirelli.
