During a visit this week, Thuringia’s Economics Minister Wolfgang Tiefensee discussed with representatives of the company how the Schuler site in Erfurt can be secured in the long term.
“Our plant in Erfurt is an excellent and competitive location for heavy engineering with over 125 years of tradition, excellently trained specialists, state-of-the-art machinery and an optimal infrastructure,” emphasized Dr. Joachim Schönbeck, CEO of parent company Andritz. “Currently and in the long term, however, Schuler is not able to operate at full capacity and thus profitably.” Schuler is currently examining the sale of the two plant areas that are particularly affected by the underutilization of capacity: the welding plant and mechanical production. “We naturally prefer to continue the business under different ownership rather than close it down,” says Dr. Schönbeck. “Schuler would continue to use the capacities as a customer.”
© Schuler
Economics Minister Tiefensee emphasized as an important result of his talks with the Schuler management that no redundancies are to be made for employees in the above-mentioned areas within the next twelve months. “We want to use this time to work on a perspective for the location.” The Minister has also promised the support of the state and in particular the Thuringia State Development Corporation (LEG). “The Schuler plant in Erfurt not only has an impressive history, but also committed employees,” continued Tiefensee. “It is regrettable that the far-reaching structural change in the automotive industry has led to underutilization. We will now do everything we can to make this location fit for the future – also because Germany will face industrial challenges in the coming years in the areas of electromobility and the hydrogen economy, which will increase the demand for heavy engineering.” Schuler sees opportunities to use its expertise in these areas to develop new business areas in the future. “We are pleased to be able to count on the support of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and the State Development Corporation in our search for interested parties,” said Schuler’s Director of Labor Relations Thomas Kamphausen. And Economics Minister Wolfgang Tiefensee added: “Of course, we would also examine the extent to which we can support a potential investor within the framework of the existing funding instruments.” Around 380 people currently work for Schuler in Erfurt, 2,500 in Germany and 5,000 worldwide. Andritz employs around 30,000 people worldwide. Web: www.schulergroup.com
