DGAP-News: Manz Automation AG reacts to changed market conditions with short-time work and capacity adjustments at foreign facilities

Manz Automation AG / Miscellaneous

08.04.2009 

Release of a Corporate News, transmitted by DGAP - a company of EquityStory AG.
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
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Reutlingen, April 8, 2009. Manz Automation AG's Managing Board has
announced that it will introduce short-time work at its German facilities
in Reutlingen and Tübingen from May, in agreement with its employee
representatives. This will initially reduce working hours to 80 percent for
an initial period of six months. Further reductions will be adjusted to
changes in order intake. A significant amount of pressure was already taken
off costs at the production facilities in Taiwan, China and Slovakia at the
start of the year by reducing overtime, short-time work and adjusting
staffing levels.

The company is thus reacting at an early stage to the current developments
in its order intake and the overall economic situation. At the same time,
the company is combining short-time work with a program for in-depth
employee training. This is in line with the planned increase in research
and development activities and the further optimization of workflows and
processes. The result will be the foundations needed to be able to offer
leading automation and system solutions for the solar industry, and thus to
continue to drive innovation in future. It also ensures that the human
resources the company has amassed remain stable, while taking pressure off
the cost structure.

The Managing Board believes that there will be a surge in demand in the
solar sector, at the latest when the economic recovery begins - and the
company is keeping sufficient capacity available for this increase in
demand.

'As things stand today, the photovoltaic market offers attractive
opportunities for growth. Once end customers have their project financing
back on a sound footing, there will be demand for highly efficient system
solutions in order to be able to combat the pressure on margins that solar
cell manufacturers are under. The industry will benefit from the current
developments, and when grid parity is reached it will enjoy a renewed
increase in the pace of growth,' explained Dieter Manz, Manz Automation
AG's CEO. He added: 'That is why we don't want to cut back the human
resources and production capacity that we have built up - instead we are
consistently training and educating our employees. We believe that growth
rates in the solar industry will be significantly double-digit when the
economy returns to normal.'


Company profile: Manz Automation AG

Reutlingen-based Manz Automation AG (ISIN: DE000A0JQ5U3) is one of the
world's leading technology providers in terms of market shares for systems
for automation, quality assurance and laser process technology for the
photovoltaic industry and for automation and wet chemicals for the LCD
industry. The Manz Group's core competences are in robotics, image
processing, laser technology, wet chemicals as well as control and drive
technology. The Manz Group's key strategic divisions are photovoltaic
(systems.solar), LCD (systems.lcd) and OEM systems (systems.aico) for
automation in various industrial sectors and the life science industry. The
Manz Group has sales and service branches in Germany, Taiwan, the USA,
China, South Korea, India and Spain. In addition, the Manz Group has its
own production facilities in Germany, Slovakia, Hungary, Taiwan and China.
The Manz Group recorded revenues of EUR 236.5 million and an EBIT margin of
12.1% in fiscal year 2008.



Investor relations contact

Manz Automation AG
Stefan Sell
Tel.: +49 (0)7121 - 9000-896
Fax:  +49 (0)7121 - 9000-99
E-Mail: ssell@manz-automation.com

cometis AG
Ulrich Wiehle
Tel.: +49 (0)611 - 205855-11
Fax:  +49 (0)611 - 205855-66 
E-Mail: wiehle@cometis.de


DGAP 08.04.2009 
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Language:     English
Issuer:       Manz Automation AG
              Steigäckerstr. 5
              72768 Reutlingen
              Deutschland
Phone:        +49 (0) 7121 9000-0
Fax:          +49 (0) 7121 9000-99
E-mail:       info@manz-automation.com
Internet:     http://www.manz-automation.com
ISIN:         DE000A0JQ5U3
WKN:          A0JQ5U
Listed:       Regulierter Markt in Frankfurt (Prime Standard); Freiverkehr
              in Berlin, Stuttgart, München, Düsseldorf
End of News                                     DGAP News-Service
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