Müller Martini to restructure

Müller Martini is to pursue a restructuring strategy in the coming months as it looks to combat economic difficulties and structural change in the graphics industry.

The company said it is suffering from the difficult economic conditions and continuing structural change in the graphics industry, and has seen revenues fall massively over the last four years.

Müller Martini said it is therefore looking at a fundamental restructuring over the months ahead.

Over the coming weeks the search for solutions will be focusing on all manufacturing locations and areas of the group at home and abroad. This will include an in-depth look at consolidating the two main sites in Zofingen and Felben, which are not operating at sufficient capacity.

In total up to 550 jobs worldwide could be affected by the restructuring.

The aim of the reform of the company is to preserve its future role as a leader in the shrunken global graphics industry through innovative printing and print finishing products together with a high-quality customer service, and to put the company on a sustainable and future-oriented foundation.

In addition, Müller Martini must adapt the size of the company to a scaled-back market to enable it to continue investing in future-oriented product developments.

Müller Martini will be present at Labelexpo Europe 2013, where it will be showing options that its printing press range offers for the production of labels, shrink sleeves and flexible packaging.

The reason behind the on-going difficult situation is the fundamental transformation of the graphics industry. The resultant consolidation among printing companies has significantly reduced the customer base, Müller Martini said.

Many existing and potential customers are holding back on investment, or are being prevented from investing in new equipment due to the lack of credit. It added that there is also significant pressure on prices and margins. The strong Swiss franc exchange rate is also having a detrimental impact on profit margins.

Bruno Müller, chief executive officer of Müller Martini, said: ‘In order to survive in strong shape, we cannot avoid the need to operate on a smaller scale.

‘However, by concentrating our forces, we will do our utmost to continue to intensify the comprehensive advice we provide to our customers on new investments and in particular in the service area. Our sales and service network regionalization program, which was initiated last year, gives us a good starting point in this context.’

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