Under the new structure, the existing nine divisions, which are reported as two segments, will be regrouped into five segments:
- GEA Farm Technologies
- GEA Heat Exchangers
- GEA Mechanical Equipment
- GEA Process Engineering
- GEA Refrigeration Technologies
The GEA Mechanical Equipment segment will include centrifuges, pumps, homogenizers and valves mainly for food & beverage and industrial applications, with Hildemar Böhm as president. The GEA Process Engineering segment provides stand alone installations and processing lines mainly for the food industry, but also for pharmaceutical, chemical and other industrial applications. The segment includes air treatment filters and will be headed up by Anders Wilhjelm.
GEA says that this new segmentation by products and solutions is the best suited approach to enhance further organic growth and integrate future acquisitions. "The current divisional management structure, largely unaltered since 1997, had created too much product overlap during the rapid organic growth and acquisitions of the recent years, especially in the area of heat exchangers which represent over a third of GEA's sales," said GEA CEO Jürg Oleas.
Currently spread over five different divisions, all heat exchanger activities will be concentrated in one dedicated segment under the new structure. "This reorganization is aimed at rationalizing the manufacturing and related activities and promoting in general lean structures in the Heat Exchanger Segment. The elimination of overlap will also help our sales force and engineers to better focus on specific customer needs, that is to realize efficiency in their food and energy production processes," said Oleas.