Tough market forces Voith to restructure

Voith to restructure European paper machine and rebuild businesses. Approximately 1 600 jobs worldwide is affected.

The significantly reduced market volume for new machines and major rebuilds has resulted in a difficult situation at Voith Paper, especially in the projects business, according to the company.

With this in mind, the Management Board of Voith Paper today presented a plan for a package of measures, which is intended to adapt the company's European structure to the market conditions.

Concentration of the paper machine business in Heidenheim and stock preparation in Ravensburg planned. Goal is a lean, customer-focused organization.

“The market volume for new systems has shrunk in half. This is going to stay that way, which means that revenues from this market will not be coming back,” says Voith Paper CEO Bertram Staudenmaier.