The decisive factor behind this sale is the company’s rapidly increasing strategic divergence from voestalpine’s core business. The selling process is scheduled for completion by the beginning of November 2014.
 
The voestalpine Group is divesting itself of its Plastics Solutions business unit, to date part of the Metal Forming Division, for strategic reasons. “We are focusing on consistently driving forward our corporate strategy which is clearly oriented at our core segments and materials know-how. Consequently, the Plastics Solutions sector does not belong to our future core strategic segments,” explains voestalpine Management Board member Herbert Eibensteiner. Last year, the Plastics Solutions business unit generated revenue of around € 120 million at the two Dutch sites Putte and Roosendaal and employed a staff of almost 700 persons. Its products include underbodies, acoustic, and exterior components for commercial vehicles, as well as non-automotive products. The major customers are primarily European OEMs. In future, these application areas will be covered by strategic partnerships with global manufacturers, also for hybrid components.
 
The Metal Forming Division of the voestalpine Group achieved a total sales volume during 2013/14 of € 2.4 billion and an operating result (EBITDA) of € 276.4 million. The division employs roughly 11,500 staff members and does business with almost all European car manufacturers. Within the Group, it constitutes the center of competence for highly refined sections, tubes and precision steel strip products and ready-to-install components made of pressed, stamped and roll-formed parts. Its combination of material expertise and processing competence is unparalleled throughout the industry, and its global presence makes the division the preferred partner to customers who are looking for innovativeness and quality.