The restructure is part of the GEA Group’s “Fit for 2020” initiative and represents a fundamental shift in the company’s internal structure as well as its external relations.
Firstly, the GEA Group is bundling its operations into two new business areas – equipment and solutions.
The new bundling into business areas of “roughly equal strength” promises greater operational synergies spanning technologies and applications. It also promotes functional excellence by standardising processes, the company said in a statement.
“For GEA’s customers this means a single national organisation per country as a central point of contact covering the entire product portfolio and offering all services on a local basis. The new structure will enable GEA to generate substantial savings while supporting further growth.”
GEA chief executive Jürg Oleas said the new structure represents a more streamlined and simplified organisation. “This means the maximum possible focus within each unit, with clearly defined responsibilities in terms of applications, products, technologies and services,” he said.
“In addition, the changes will safeguard and further improve our customer focus through first-rate innovations and services, rapid decision-making processes, uniform and coordinated customer management, and much more.”
Speaking to CCN about how the restructure will impact Australian operations, the company’s corporate media director, Marc Poenitz, said local ties will be stronger. He said Australian customers can now rely on the Australian organisation to cover the full range of products and services. “It will be a single point of contact enabling a much closer relationship with local customers.”
Poenitz said GEA has reduced the levels of complexity by streamlining administrative functions. “Administration is more standardised which gives rise to uniform, high process standards worldwide. All in all the new GEA has considerably flatter structures and at the end of the day old brands will disappear,”
he said.
“The goal is to secure GEA’s future competitiveness by harnessing savings and realising the company’s growth targets in an increasingly challenging market environment.”
As part of the announcement, the GEA Group launched a new web site (www.gea.com) replacing 200 separate company sites.