Bühler will create a new consumer foods division which will incorporate the newly-acquired Haas company as well as its current chocolate, nuts, bakery and coffee business.
Switzerland-headquartered Bühler said the new organisation will be able to support customers through simplified interfaces, integrated solutions and innovation.
Germar Wacker, current Haas CEO, will lead the new segment and join Bühler’s executive board.
Bühler has recently operated just two businesses: advanced materials, and grains and food. Triggered by the acquisition of Austrian wafer machine maker Haas, the company is now aligning its setup and forming a new business focused on consumer foods and confectionery.
“With this move, we can create significant value for our customers and position ourselves as clear leader in the growing consumer foods market,” said Bühler CEO Stefan Scheiber.
Since its acquisition in January 2018, Haas has operated as a separate Bühler business. The integration showed “remarkable results” in a very short time, Bühler said.
Bühler and Haas already serve many customers together, work jointly on customer projects, and are in discussion with numerous interested partners.
The new organisation, which combines all consumer foods-related technologies and solutions in one segment, is the logical next step to serve customers from one single point of origin, Bühler added.
Germar Wacker said: “With this new, strong business pillar in the field of processing technologies in consumer foods, we can offer specialised knowledge as well as research and development to the needs of our customers in that sector.”
When the Haas deal was announced, Bühler said the business is a global leader in the field of production systems for wafers, biscuits and baked goods with a global workforce of 1,750, manufacturing sites in six countries and sales revenues of around €300 million.
The new organisation will become operational on 1 January 2019.
Source: FoodBev
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