DGAP-News: GEA Group Aktiengesellschaft: GEA Optimizes Group Structure (news with additional features)


DGAP-News: GEA Group Aktiengesellschaft / Key word(s): Strategic
Company Decision
GEA Group Aktiengesellschaft: GEA Optimizes Group Structure (news with
additional features)

21.08.2014 / 07:00

---------------------------------------------------------------------

GEA Optimizes Group Structure

  - In the future, two Business Areas: "Equipment" and "Solutions"

  - Sales and Services to be bundled into one organization per country

  - Administrative functions will be clearly streamlined and centralized

  - Expected annual savings until the end of 2017: at least EUR 100 million

Düsseldorf, August 21, 2014 - Within the scope of its "Fit for 2020"
initiative, the Executive Board of GEA Group Aktiengesellschaft resolved to
introduce a new group structure. As part of the strategic realignment of
the company, this initiative provides an optimized organizational setup
with reduced structural complexity. Hence, it will allow for significant
cost reduction and fosters further growth. Following the recent divestiture
of the heat exchanger business, GEA is sharpening its focus on the customer
industries food and beverages from which the group meanwhile receives about
75 percent of its order intake.

In the course of 2015, GEA will bundle the development and manufacturing of
products and the provision of process solutions into the two new Business
Areas, "Equipment" and "Solutions" and report accordingly. The current
Segments will be integrated into these two Business Areas. This new
bundling into Business Areas of about equal strength focusing on their
respective successful business models promises to exploit more operational
synergies across technologies and applications and will promote functional
excellence through the standardization of processes.

All customer-oriented Sales and Service activities are to be combined on a
local level into one organization per country. With the merging of the
currently still large number of sales and service companies, local
competencies will be strengthened, existing synergy potentials realized
even more efficiently and the visibility of the common brand GEA will be
highlighted in the market. Anchoring the independent regional perspective
in the management of sales and services is also geared to accelerate the
systematic opening of new growth opportunities in emerging markets.

In addition, administrative functions will be streamlined, stronger
standardized and managed considerably more centrally in the future, which
besides cost savings, is designed to ensure uniform high process standards
globally. The Global Corporate Center will centrally manage all steering
and support functions which so far have mostly been organized decentrally
within the operating units. Regional Shared Service Centers will take care
of the implementation of standardized administrative processes such as
accounts receivables and payables or payroll accounting and thus relieve
the operating units.

With project "Fit for 2020", the target is to achieve annual cost savings
of at least EUR 100 million by the end of 2017. According to first
estimates the cash-relevant non-recurring expenditures until then are
likely to add up to approximately the amount of the aforementioned annual
savings. Based on today's business volume, the implementation measures will
include world-wide personnel capacity reductions of approx. 1000 full-time
equivalents over the next 2-3 years. However, the exact number of
adjustments, the timeline and affected locations are subject to further
analyses during the "Blueprint Detailing" phase. Personnel-related measures
will be discussed in a timely and adequate manner with the relevant
employee representatives.

"The goal of the strategic realignment of GEA is to ensure the sustainable
development of value added in the company group. With this new group
structure we will not only leverage existing savings potentials but also
establish the organizational platform for reaching our ambitious growth
targets. The future GEA will have substantially flatter hierarchies, act
more closely to the local customer and boast a distinctly clearer footprint
as a globally uniform brand. Further details of the new organization will
now be determined in a blueprint detailing phase until the end of the
year", affirmed Jürg Oleas, CEO of GEA Group Aktiengesellschaft.


About GEA Group
GEA Group Aktiengesellschaft is one of the largest suppliers for the food
processing industry and a wide range of other process industries. As an
international technology group, the Company focuses on process technology
and components for sophisticated production processes. In 2013, GEA
generated consolidated revenues in excess of EUR 4.3 billion, more than 70
percent of which came from the food sector, which is a long-term growth
industry. The group employed about 18,000 people worldwide as of June 30,
2014. GEA Group is a market and technology leader in its business areas. It
is listed in Germany's MDAX stock index (G1A, WKN 660 200) and the STOXX(R)
Europe 600 Index. Further information is available on the Internet at:
www.gea.com.

To unsubscribe from GEA Group Aktiengesellschaft's news distribution list,
please send an e-mail to pr@gea.com.


Contact:
GEA Group Aktiengesellschaft
Phone +49 (0)211 9136 1492
Fax +49 (0)211 9136 31087
www.gea.com



+++++
Additional features:

Picture: http://newsfeed2.equitystory.com/mg-technologies/283236.html
Subtitle: GEA - From four stand-alone Segments to OneGEA organization

---------------------------------------------------------------------

21.08.2014 Dissemination of a Corporate News, transmitted by DGAP - a
service of EQS Group AG.
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.

The DGAP Distribution Services include Regulatory Announcements,
Financial/Corporate News and Press Releases.
Media archive at www.dgap-medientreff.de and www.dgap.de

---------------------------------------------------------------------


Language:    English                                                    
Company:     GEA Group Aktiengesellschaft                               
             Peter-Müller-Straße 12                                     
             40468 Düsseldorf                                           
             Germany                                                    
Phone:       +49 (0)211 9136-0                                          
Fax:         +49 (0)211 9136-31087                                      
E-mail:      ir@gea.com                                                 
Internet:    www.gea.com                                                
ISIN:        DE0006602006                                               
WKN:         660200                                                     
Indices:     MDAX                                                       
Listed:      Regulierter Markt in Berlin, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt (Prime  
             Standard), Hamburg, München; Freiverkehr in Hannover,      
             Stuttgart                                                  
 
 
End of News    DGAP News-Service  
---------------------------------------------------------------------  
283236 21.08.2014