ANDRITZ annual report 2012 - ANDRITZ Vertical volute pumps

2012 business year
11
for 174 years and always one of the world’s leading press
suppliers for this industry, particularly car manufacturers.
I have been in contact with the owners for years,
and ultimately they decided that we could offer Schuler
the best home in the long term.
With AES, Gouda, Bricmont, and Soutec, a further four
companies were acquired in 2012. Are you not afraid
that with the large number of acquisitions – more than
60 companies since the beginning of the 1990s –
ANDRITZ will one day be taken over itself?
Wolfgang semper: As somebody who was, so to
speak, taken over himself – I came to ANDRITZ in
2006 with the acquisition of VA TECH HYDRO – I can
say something about this. The first question ANDRITZ
put to us at the time was: What technologies can we
invest in, in order to secure and expand our market
position? This shows how ANDRITZ approaches the
question of acquisitions. No competitors are bought
so as to be downsized or resold. On the contrary
– since the takeover by ANDRITZ, the former VA
TECH HYDRO has experienced considerable organic
growth. Moreover, companies are not bought at any
price. However, one can never rule out that an acquisition
might go wrong.
humbert Köfler
Responsibility: PULP & PAPER
(Service & Units), SEPARATION
Joined ANDRITZ in: 1987
Let’s take a look at the regional markets. In the last few
years, ANDRITZ has invested heavily in expanding its
presence in South America and Asia, but now even China
is faltering and the first European countries are already
withdrawing. Has ANDRITZ chosen the wrong strategy?
friedrich papst: We think it’s the right strategy. One
can compare the ANDRITZ GROUP to a maritime fleet.
This fleet is able to navigate steadily through the economic
troughs because it is made up of five different
ships, our five business areas, and one ship is sometimes
able to cope better with the swell of the waves
than another. This also applies to the regions. The crisis
of 2008 and 2009 affected us less compared to companies
within our sector because the weakness of the
European and US markets could largely be offset by
high demand in the emerging markets. Our global presence
also considerably helped us in 2012. It would be
a mistake not to be present in the emerging markets.
We like to be where our customers are and where there
is demand.
Finally, Mr Leitner, I would like to have a brief look into the
future. What does ANDRITZ expect in 2013?
Wolfgang leitner: The economic climate probably will
not change significantly in 2013 and will continue to
be challenging. However, as things stand, we expect
ANDRITZ to perform well, whereby the visibility of future
projects will be further reduced. We must adjust even
more to these fluctuations and make the company more