Swisslog sells German subsidiary Transnorm divestment program completed

Logistics specialist Swisslog has successfully concluded the sales negotiations for its subsidiary Transnorm System GmbH. The buyer of the Transnorm group with headquarters in Harsum (Germany) and subsidiaries in Grand Prairie (USA), Tewkesbury (UK) and Kluang (Malaysia) is the private equity group NORD Holding. Transnorm will continue to be managed by the current operative management. With the sale of Transnorm, a company specializing in conveying systems technology, Swisslog is able to conclude the divestment program started in March 2003.

Transnorm System GmbH was part of the Swisslog group since it was taken over in 1997. The company specializing in the development and implementation of conveyor installations, systems and components was most recently an integral part of the division "Material Flow & Robotic Systems" together with the Swisslog subsidiaries Schierholz, Translift, and Cimcorp.

Within the framework of its strategic reorganization, Swisslog decided to sell off four companies that were no longer part of the company's core business. Schierholz and Translift were sold first in August 2003. In December 2003, Swisslog handed over their Finnish subsidiary Cimcorp Oy to the company's management. The sale of the Transnorm group concludes Swisslog's focusing and divestment program started in March 2003.

The buyer, NORD Holding Unternehmensbeteiligungs GmbH, is a private equity company specializing in medium-sized businesses. As a financial investor it focuses on the financing of company successions, the divestment of strategically non relevant subsidiaries out of group companies as well as growth financing of companies in all German speaking countries.

The operative management of the Transnorm group will remain in the hands of its management headed by Detlef Walter, which will financially participate in the company.

Transnorm currently has a staff of around 350 employees and generated a worldwide turnover in 2003 totalling CHF 74.7 million. The company will continue to concentrate on the further development of modular material flow technologies as well as commissioning and distribution installations.