Corporate | 19 December 2007 09:00
Manz Automation AG / Acquisition Release of a Corporate News, transmitted by DGAP - a company of EquityStory AG. The issuer / publisher is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Manz Automation AG acquires the engineering company Christian Majer GmbH & Co. KG in Tübingen Acquisition opens up additional capacity to realize growth Reutlingen, December 19, 2007. Manz Automation AG, one of the world's leading producers of automation, quality assurance and laser process technology systems for the photovoltaic and LCD industry, has acquired Christian Majer GmbH & Co. KG. The companies agreed not to disclose the purchase price. This acquisition gives Manz access to additional capacity which will allow it to successfully realize its dynamic growth. Christian Majer GmbH & Co. KG currently has almost 80 employees, of which more than 50 are involved in the production and installation of machines. To date the company has concentrated on engineering for processing paper, films and packaging. After the acquisition, the production product range is to be expanded, step by step, to include the production of components and machinery for Manz Automation. In addition to the manufacture of mechanical parts, the company also has additional warehouse and assembly halls available with a total area of around 5,200 m². As the company already assembles component groups for Manz on a job-order basis and is located less than 10 kilometers from Manz AG's headquarters in Reutlingen, the Managing Board believes that expanding the production range will progress rapidly. Dieter Manz, Manz Automation's CEO commented on the reasons for the acquisition: 'This acquisition adds 80 excellently trained employees to our staff rising the number of people up to more than 400 employees worldwide. This will make a key contribution to combating our capacity bottlenecks – which have increased as a result of the rapid increase in our order book over the past few months. The acquisition also lays the foundations for continued strong growth.' Christian Majer GmbH & Co. KG was sold due to the lack of a suitable successor. The acquisition is effective as of January 1, 2008. Company profile Manz Automation AG develops and manufactures systems and components for automation, quality assurance and laser process technology. The company's core competences are to be found in robotics, image processing, laser technology and control technology. Manz Automation AG thus unites bundled expertise from elementary technology areas to achieve optimum results for its customers. The company has three divisions: photovoltaic (systems.solar), LCD (systems.lcd) and components and OEM systems (systems.aico) for automation in various sectors of industry. In addition, Manz Automation AG is planning to equip laboratory systems in the pharmaceuticals and life science sector with its technology (systems.lab). Reutlingen-based Manz Automation AG was formed in 1987 and has branches in the USA, Taiwan, Korea, China and Hungary. In fiscal year 2006 the Manz group recorded total operating revenue totaling around EUR 44 million, up almost 50% year-on-year. More than 60% of revenues are recorded abroad, in particular in Asia. Manz Automation AG Birte-Christina Benecke Tel.: +49 (0)7121 – 9000-21 Fax: +49 (0)7121 – 9000-99 e-mail: bbenecke@manz-automation.com Investor Relations cometis AG Ulrich Wiehle Tel: +49 (0)611 – 205855-11 Fax: +49 (0)611 – 205855-66 e-mail: wiehle@cometis.de 19.12.2007 Financial News transmitted by DGAP ----------------------------------------------------------------------