May 10 2008
Gurit, a leading manufacturer of advanced compos-ite materials, has decided to divest the remaining Swiss-based Winter Sport business located in Worb near Berne.
The winter sport market does not offer the rates of growth Gurit sees in its other markets and even after the downsizing in winter 2007 it shows insufficient levels of profitability. The Group has thus decided to divest the remaining Swiss-based Winter Sport activities to the French company Socrep.
The buyer acquires the customer and product portfolios as well as the majority of the production equipment. As the buyer will relocate the machinery to France, the phas-ing out of the Worb production site seems inevitable and may lead to 37 job losses by the end of August 2008. Gurit has started the legally re-quired consultations with the workers’ representatives.
A social plan is in place. Gurit will obtain a low single-digit million CHF amount as proceeds from this transaction expected to be closed by the end of August 2008 and incur a similarly low single-digit million CHF amount of additional restruc-turing costs. Gurit plans to sell the empty building separately.
While Gurit plans to phase out production of extruded winter sport materi-als in Switzerland, strategic solutions are being sought for the successful and profitable production of sintered running bases located in Vreden, Germany.
Posted May 9th,2008